USCIS to Conduct In-Person Interviews for Employment-Based AOS Cases
August 31, 2017
The USCIS has announced it intends to conduct in-person interviews of all employment-based adjustment of status (AOS) applicants. This requirement will begin on October 1 (the start of the government’s fiscal year) and will be phased in.
The interview requirement is a result of President Trump’s executive order which imposed a travel ban from 6 predominantly-Muslim countries. That order also required federal agencies to institute uniform policies on screening and vetting processes for immigration benefits.
In the past, the USCIS has conducted in-person interviews of AOS applicants. That requirement had been waived in most cases, however, because the agency felt that the employment-based applicants typically posed low or no security risk.
Weaver Schlenger has expertise in preparing applicants for the AOS interview and will work with our national network of immigration attorneys on behalf of our clients who desire attorney representation at these interviews.
The short USCIS announcement did not address the logistical questions of how, when and where the interviews will be conducted, but we anticipate that further delays to the Form I-485 adjudication times will result. The Form I-485, or AOS application, is the final step of the employment-based green card process, following in most cases the PERM and Form I-140.
We will continue to monitor developments in this area and provide updates here.
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