Effective immediately, USCIS officers will have expanded discretionary authority when reviewing petitions for immigration benefits. USCIS will also expand the categories of petitions that will undergo social media screening and vetting to look for anti-American content.
According to the new policy update, discretionary authority will now be used to consider petitions where there is evidence of anti-American ideologies, support of terrorist groups, and/ or antisemitic content. USCIS noted that evidence of Anti-American ideologies or activities will now be an “overwhelmingly negative” factor in the petitioner’s case. This discretion will extend to all applications for immigration benefits, including petitions for parole, adjustment of status, employment-based visas with national interest waiver requests, citizenship applications, and student visa extensions.
Discretionary authority also changes good moral character evaluations for naturalization applications. USCIS officers will note applicants’ positive contributions to demonstrate that they are of good moral character. Good moral character goes beyond abiding to a country’s laws, but includes overall good behavior, positive contributions to society, and compliance with societal and cultural norms. As such, evidence of good moral character will favorably influence the applicant’s naturalization application to USCIS.
To read the full Policy Alert, go to uscis.gov/newsroom.