The USCIS recently issued a policy memorandum indicating when USCIS offices may waive the interview requirement in green card cases. The purpose of allowing waivers is to help USCIS offices better manage their limited resources.
The categories within employment-based immigrant visa applications include adjustments based upon a petition for immigrant worker (Form I-140), or adjustments filed by a spouse or child of such a principal foreign national. The I-140 petition must have been filed by the same employer for whom the adjustment applicant works. If a foreign national is employed by a different employer using the "portability" provisions recently enacted by Congress, the USCIS will consider on a case-by-case basis whether an interview is still necessary.
The USCIS may also waive the interview if an adjustment is based upon an approved immigrant petition for an alien entrepreneur (Form I-526) or a petition for a religious worker (Form I-360),.
The USCIS may waive an interview in family-based immigrant adjustment cases where the adjustment is based on a petition for an immigrant relative (Form I-130) for an unmarried child, parent or spouse of a U.S. citizen who is applying to adjust to conditional resident status from K-1 or K-2 within 90 days of entry. Interviews may also be waived for an unmarried child under 14.
For asylees or refugees, most adjustment applications will be adjudicated at the Nebraska Service Center without an in-person interview. However, cases may be referred to an USCIS district office for interview if they involve complex issues, criminal charges or indications of fraud, or cases where the record indicates changes in the country conditions on which the original grant of asylum was based.
Other categories of adjustment applications where the USCIS may waive the interview include cases where: (1) the applicant has been interviewed in the course of an investigation, field examination, or prior interview, and the USCIS determines that a further interview is unnecessary; (2) the applicant is a native or citizen of Cuba, or is a spouse or child of such a foreign national regardless of citizenship or place of birth, applying for adjustment under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act; (3) there is sufficient evidence to support a denial of adjustment without conducting the interview; or (4) the applicant is a beneficiary of Form I-360 filed as a battered spouse or child and the Service does not have any information that casts doubt on the approval of the I-360.
Even when a case falls within one of the categories, the USCIS may still determine that an interview is necessary if the case involves complex issues, criminal charges, indications of fraud, or any other reason the application is at higher risk. The USCIS will decide whether to conduct an interview on a case-by-case basis.
The categories within employment-based immigrant visa applications include adjustments based upon a petition for immigrant worker (Form I-140), or adjustments filed by a spouse or child of such a principal foreign national. The I-140 petition must have been filed by the same employer for whom the adjustment applicant works. If a foreign national is employed by a different employer using the "portability" provisions recently enacted by Congress, the USCIS will consider on a case-by-case basis whether an interview is still necessary.
The USCIS may also waive the interview if an adjustment is based upon an approved immigrant petition for an alien entrepreneur (Form I-526) or a petition for a religious worker (Form I-360),.
The USCIS may waive an interview in family-based immigrant adjustment cases where the adjustment is based on a petition for an immigrant relative (Form I-130) for an unmarried child, parent or spouse of a U.S. citizen who is applying to adjust to conditional resident status from K-1 or K-2 within 90 days of entry. Interviews may also be waived for an unmarried child under 14.
For asylees or refugees, most adjustment applications will be adjudicated at the Nebraska Service Center without an in-person interview. However, cases may be referred to an USCIS district office for interview if they involve complex issues, criminal charges or indications of fraud, or cases where the record indicates changes in the country conditions on which the original grant of asylum was based.
Other categories of adjustment applications where the USCIS may waive the interview include cases where: (1) the applicant has been interviewed in the course of an investigation, field examination, or prior interview, and the USCIS determines that a further interview is unnecessary; (2) the applicant is a native or citizen of Cuba, or is a spouse or child of such a foreign national regardless of citizenship or place of birth, applying for adjustment under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act; (3) there is sufficient evidence to support a denial of adjustment without conducting the interview; or (4) the applicant is a beneficiary of Form I-360 filed as a battered spouse or child and the Service does not have any information that casts doubt on the approval of the I-360.
Even when a case falls within one of the categories, the USCIS may still determine that an interview is necessary if the case involves complex issues, criminal charges, indications of fraud, or any other reason the application is at higher risk. The USCIS will decide whether to conduct an interview on a case-by-case basis.