Articles Posted in Policy

On this Memorial Day in the U.S. we are full of gratitude. Thinking about all those who have served or are currently serving, and all those who have lost their lives in service.

We are also thinking about the individuals and families who have been affected by their loved ones’ service; those who have had to cope on the home front, and those who have lost their parent, spouse, partner, child, family member or friend.

Please take a moment to reflect on the meaning of this holiday, and the grave sacrifices that others have made. Wishing you all a relaxing Memorial Day.

With the start of 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have already promulgated several important updates including the release of the final rule on the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers and the publication of the first volume of its comprehensive online policy manual.

To ensure consistency and transparency of the adjudication process, in the past 4 years USCIS has undertook a comprehensive agency-wide policy review of more than 10,000 of written memoranda.

As a result of this extensive and ongoing review, USCIS has created the USCIS Policy Manual, which is the agency’s centralized online repository for USCIS’s immigration policies. The USCIS Policy Manual will ultimately replace the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM), the USCIS Immigration Policy Memoranda site, and other policy repositories. The manual is structured to house several volumes pertaining to different areas of immigration benefits administered by the agency such as citizenship and naturalization, adjustment of status, admissibility, protection and parole, nonimmigrants, refugees, asylees, immigrants, waivers, and travel and employment.