The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed, informally, on Friday, August 25, 2017 that beginning on October 1, 2017, interviews will be required for many, if not all applicants, for adjustment of status in employment-based green card cases. This new practice is part of President Donald Trump’s plan to apply “extreme vetting” to immigrants and visitors to the U.S. This is a significant change from USCIS policy over the last 10 years, where USCIS had the discretion to waive interviews for individuals who filed their I-485 application based on an I-140 petition filed for them in an employment category and generally did so. Apparently, these interview waivers will no longer be permitted. This new policy is expected to slow the process for employment-based immigration as local USCIS offices deal with substantially larger numbers of I-485 interviews on top of already surging numbers of N-400 interviews. In fiscal year 2015, approximately 122,000 people were approved for adjustment of status in employment-based green card categories. In its confirmation, USCIS noted that the categories of applicants who will be required to be interviewed will continue to expand. As soon as USCIS issues a formal announcement, it will be posted here.
The USCIS released this news alert on August 28, 2017:
