30Apr

Effective Immediately, USCIS Will Now Defer to Prior Approvals for Extension Petitions

Posted by: usavisa Categories: Uncategorized
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On April 27, 2021, the USCIS issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual instructing officers to give deference to prior determinations when adjudicating extension requests involving the same parties and same material facts. The policy change comes in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans, effective immediately, the USCIS has reinstated its 2004 policy of deferring to prior determinations of eligibility. By affording deference to prior approvals involving the same parties, the change in policy is intended to promote more efficient and more fair adjudications.