Immigration Lawyer Blog
Until very recently, USCIS routinely waived in-person interviews for employment based adjustment of status cases. Instead, USCIS only conducted interviews in about 5-10% of all employment based adjustment of status cases. On August 28, 2017, USCIS announced that it would be dramatically expanding its use of interviews in employment based adjustment of status cases. Under the new guidelines, USCIS announced that beginning October 1, 2017, all employment based adjustment of status applicants would have to complete an in-person interview. The new guidelines apply to all applicants who have had (or have filed) a Form I-140 petition after March 6, 2017.
How will Form I-140 Petitions be Adjudicated?
The new interview guidelines do not change how USCIS adjudicates Form I-140 petitions. USCIS service centers will continue to adjudicate Form I-140s. Form I-485s filed concurrently with Form I-140s will continue to be filed with the service centers. Once the underlying Form I-140 is approved, an interview will be set up with a local USCIS field office.