Green card applications will now receive more stringent FBI background checks.
Checking FBI databases to review immigration applications is not new, but now, with the start of new enhanced security inspections, USCIS is gaining more access to FBI criminal history databases. CBS News reports that the government has requested a pause in certain cases as the new changes are implemented. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services distributed internal guidance to its officers instructing them to resubmit pending applications for immigration benefits, including asylum, green cards and U.S. citizenship, to enhance FBI background checks.Officials are instructed not to approve any pending cases that have not gone through expanded background checks.The order directs the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI, to provide the immigration agency with access to its criminal history database “to the fullest extent permitted by law” to identify criminals.If information about a related case is received from the FBI before April 27, USCIS officials will be required to resubmit for fingerprint screening. Officials were told they did not need to resubmit if they planned to reject the application.USCIS spokesman Zach Kahle told CBS the agency “implemented new security checks to enhance the review and screening of applicants through expanded access to federal criminal databases.”“Processing is ongoing as we apply these enhanced background check requirements. Any delays in the issuance of decisions should be brief and resolved quickly,” Kahler said. “USCIS will always prioritize the safety of the American people.”
Who will be affected by the new initiatives?
Anyone with a pending case as of April 27 can face this new review, but USCIS said the delay should be short. The H-1B visa does not fall into this category because it is for immigrants, while H-1B and other work visas are non-immigrant visas.List of services that may be affected
- Form I-485 (Green Card)
- Form N-400 (Citizenship)
- Form I-751 (Conditional Deletion)
- Family-Based Green Card Sponsorship
- Active asylum application
- advance parole
