What's happening with individuals on authorized stay getting detained/arrested at USCIS during their AOS interview? [merged threads]

[Dashinka 26,322]

6 hours ago, Nagpetisyon said:

Unconfirmed reports claim USCIS office employees coordinate with ICE on-site for arrests during routine immigration interviews.
This gets more attention following a recent series of apprehensions in San Diego during Green Card interviews.

A "leaked memo" details possible practices at interviews

I wonder about the veracity of this "LinkedIn" post especially when I read number 4.  How many USCIS interviews last more than 30 minutes unless there is a real anomaly?

[speedster 44]

https://www.newsweek.com/wife-detained-green-card-interview-ice-san-diego-11176819

 

This time it's someone with TPS that applied with a I-485 before their status was up, with authorized stay.

 

Someone tell me where's the wrong here. No one can tell me how this doesn't disprove the chatter people were saying about the K1s even those who filed within the 90 days.

[speedster 44]

14 hours ago, Dashinka said:

I wonder about the veracity of this "LinkedIn" post especially when I read number 4.  How many USCIS interviews last more than 30 minutes unless there is a real anomaly?

 

Chatter as well with several lawyer groups with AILA saying this was a true document. USCIS interviews could easily be more than 30 min.

[Boiler 48,314]

1 hour ago, speedster said:

https://www.newsweek.com/wife-detained-green-card-interview-ice-san-diego-11176819

 

This time it's someone with TPS that applied with a I-485 before their status was up, with authorized stay.

 

Someone tell me where's the wrong here. No one can tell me how this doesn't disprove the chatter people were saying about the K1s even those who filed within the 90 days.

 

According to that link she was paroled in. Unclear if Husband is a USC.

 

I know there is an issue around wheter Parole counts as being inpected for adjustment purposes.

 

Very rare for an I 130 to result in an interview, I have not seen enough of them to comment. Most I 485 would be around 30 minutes. I have seen a few take a couple of hours but they have had an underlying reason.

 

[Nagpetisyon 6]

People looking at these incidents and saying, "cannot be happening, nothing like this has occurred in past USCIS customs" need to remember the parent organization of USCIS has a modified mission this year (deportation), and USCIS could and will change habits to help the apprehension numbers ( low hanging fruit). Just because typical USCIS interviews did not last more than 30 minutes in the past doesn't mean interviewers now may be probing longer and more deeply ( to their credit ) or stretching out the interview until ICE can arrive outside the door.

Edited yesterday at 03:44 AM by Nagpetisyon
spelling

[Sam Burns 225]

On 11/24/2025 at 5:35 PM, sompsyth said:

Based on a few Reddit posts and anecdotal experiences from a few in the comment section that I have read so far, these people came here legally and the AOS petition was timely filed before the visa expiry, they are in an authorized stay (without legal status) and are getting detained at USCIS during their interview. 

 

There are several reports about this in the local news media from San Diego and San Fransisco. 

 

Any thoughts on this? So are we all going to agree that it was never about "legal immigration"?

For sure, only the deluded would believe if it was ever about illegality

[speedster 44]

3 hours ago, Boiler said:

 

According to that link she was paroled in. Unclear if Husband is a USC.

 

I know there is an issue around wheter Parole counts as being inpected for adjustment purposes.

 

Very rare for an I 130 to result in an interview, I have not seen enough of them to comment. Most I 485 would be around 30 minutes. I have seen a few take a couple of hours but they have had an underlying reason.

 

 

Yeah, inspected and paroled still doesn't mean you need to be taken by ICE. Husband is a USC, it's the first paragraph "A Ukrainian woman married to a United States citizen has become one of the latest applicants to be detained by federal agents at their green card interview, despite her husband saying she had always had legal status."

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-2

"

INA 245(a) Adjustment of Status Eligibility Requirements

The alien must have been:

    Inspected and admitted into the United States; or
    Inspected and paroled into the United States."

Parole isn't an issue.

I've also seen nearly every I130 result in an interview regardless of how long the relationship was/proof you have. (i.e I'm one of them)

 

[Dashinka 26,322]

10 hours ago, Nagpetisyon said:

People looking at these incidents and saying, "cannot be happening, nothing like this has occurred in past USCIS customs" need to remember the parent organization of USCIS has a modified mission this year (deportation), and USCIS could and will change habits to help the apprehension numbers ( low hanging fruit). Just because typical USCIS interviews did not last more than 30 minutes in the past doesn't mean interviewers now may be probing longer and more deeply ( to their credit ) or stretching out the interview until ICE can arrive outside the door.

Has anyone said this is not happening?  The main question at least I have is what is the entire story of the individual case(s) where this is happening.  The reason I ask this is that it does not appear to be happening to everyone going through AOS via either a K1 or B2/ESTA, so it would be prudent of the media reporting these incidents to get the entire story before scaring everyone.

[Nagpetisyon 6]

I agree it is prudent of the media to get the entire story ( the WHY ) in addition to reporting the puzzling incidents. Only after reporting on more such incidents may a pattern become clear ( e.g. enforcement of this type only in certain cities/states, or with certain visa types). The December 2 changes regarding immigrants from 19 countries was stated publicly in a Policy Memorandum PM-602-0192, but it is not clear if recent ICE detentions at USCIS interviews are a result of a stated policy and are applied nationwide or targetted.

It may be worthwhile for the media to investigate the validity of that "leaked USCIS memo" saying immigration interview officers are to be messaging ICE during green card interviews if there is an out of status issue in the past. At present this is a rumored memo and not a published office policy or public directive.

[speedster 44]

5 hours ago, Dashinka said:

Has anyone said this is not happening?  The main question at least I have is what is the entire story of the individual case(s) where this is happening.  The reason I ask this is that it does not appear to be happening to everyone going through AOS via either a K1 or B2/ESTA, so it would be prudent of the media reporting these incidents to get the entire story before scaring everyone.

 

5 hours ago, Nagpetisyon said:

I agree it is prudent of the media to get the entire story ( the WHY ) in addition to reporting the puzzling incidents. Only after reporting on more such incidents may a pattern become clear ( e.g. enforcement of this type only in certain cities/states, or with certain visa types). The December 2 changes regarding immigrants from 19 countries was stated publicly in a Policy Memorandum PM-602-0192, but it is not clear if recent ICE detentions at USCIS interviews are a result of a stated policy and are applied nationwide or targetted.

It may be worthwhile for the media to investigate the validity of that "leaked USCIS memo" saying immigration interview officers are to be messaging ICE during green card interviews if there is an out of status issue in the past. At present this is a rumored memo and not a published office policy or public directive.

 

It's been reported by several news stations and here that it's the San Diego FO and some other California FOs. The WHY is being reported, it's in the article! The pattern has been there, it's reported on. Lawyers have confirmed the memo across AILA.

[speedster 44]

12 minutes ago, speedster said:

 

 

It's been reported by several news stations and here that it's the San Diego FO and some other California FOs. The WHY is being reported, it's in the article! The pattern has been there, it's reported on. Lawyers have confirmed the memo across AILA.

Just to continue I found this: 

"

    She originally entered the U.S. on a J-1 visa.
    Before her J-1 status ended, you filed a Change of Status (COS) to B-2.
    USCIS approved that COS and issued an I-94 showing B-2 status valid
    She remained in the U.S. the entire time — no departures.
    Married
    You filed I-130 + I-485
    Once USCIS accepted the filing and issued receipts in early July 2025, she was in pending AOS status.
    She now has a C09 EAD (10/24/2025–10/23/2030).

"

It really is just a waste of money to just be detaining people when they're legally allowed to adjust and USCIS has the jurisdiction to. It's also a waste of money diverting other federal officers from their other jobs that is clearly more important than non-criminal AOS interview goers.

[Boiler 48,314]

HRR?

[yuna628 9,927]

49 minutes ago, speedster said:

Just to continue I found this: 

"

    She originally entered the U.S. on a J-1 visa.
    Before her J-1 status ended, you filed a Change of Status (COS) to B-2.
    USCIS approved that COS and issued an I-94 showing B-2 status valid
    She remained in the U.S. the entire time — no departures.
    Married
    You filed I-130 + I-485
    Once USCIS accepted the filing and issued receipts in early July 2025, she was in pending AOS status.
    She now has a C09 EAD (10/24/2025–10/23/2030).

"

It really is just a waste of money to just be detaining people when they're legally allowed to adjust and USCIS has the jurisdiction to. It's also a waste of money diverting other federal officers from their other jobs that is clearly more important than non-criminal AOS interview goers.

 

I am not defending the actions going on currently on many of these cases in any way. Some cases that have been in the media have been telling a lot of misleading tales, others seem legit, and still others are misunderstood by the author of the news article. In the thread you've posted here the same individual that's talking about his wife's case and her unfortunate arrest, had posted another thread not three days ago being concerned with her case. He hasn't described her as overstaying in your thread, but in his previous thread he did admit she had overstayed as her B2 expired before they filed for AOS. 

 

 

The larger issue is I fear not that we shouldn't have sympathy for these individuals.. but that in cases we used to think would be fine (overstays that are forgiven, K1s that don't file in time, VWP adjusters etc) is no longer the case despite no changes to the law/policy. We could all hopefully say it's a giant waste of time, lacks empathy and common sense, or discretion. But up is down and down is up. People in these complicated situations need to not assume they will be okay, and their lawyers should stop advising them of this.

[Boiler 48,314]

I was looking around and saw another case, VWP entrant married in the summer and did nothing.

 

A lawyer suggested Consulate processing and was downvoted.

 

Cant win.

 

VWP of course waives any rights.

[yuna628 9,927]

He said in his original thread where he feared this would happen that she overstayed before filing AOS, then in his new thread he says they filed on time but that the ''five day overstay'' came after filing. Understandable that he's upset, but he needs to be clear about this. I know things happen but I cannot emphasize enough... this is an issue that may ruin your lives, don't delay, don't hope or cope or assume, don't cut it so close to the wire.

 

Here is one person that got detained.. and really it's just so needless because they still gave them a green card in the end. I believe that lady's case was in the news.

 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by yuna628