USCIS Policy Memorandum "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Will Grant ‘Adjustment of Status’ Only in Extraordinary Circumstances"

[Edward and Jaycel 2,702]

6 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

This is an understatement!!!!  But we must admit that we all saw this coming.....

 

Agreed.... this is the classic and enduring societal, political, policy truth of "The Pendulum". For decades "The Pendulum" has swung in the direction of very permissive immigration policies and nature, physics, reality (whatever you want to call it) will always dictate a swing back in the other direction at some point. It can only swing so far in the "Openly Permissive" realm because the farther it goes, the more loopholes, grift, abuse, fraud, etc. forces it to swing back.

[Daphne . 2,179]

Reddit is blowing up over this, but I do think this will limit the possibilities for the people who entered on a tourist visa or Esta and changed their mind after leaving the arrivals hall, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing really. 

[Crazy Cat 46,637]

1 hour ago, Daphne . said:

Reddit is blowing up over this, but I do think this will limit the possibilities for the people who entered on a tourist visa or Esta and changed their mind after leaving the arrivals hall, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing really. 

I am with you 1000%.....this has been a big loophole for abuse for years and years. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Crazy Cat

[yuna628 10,001]

This memo which I heard rumblings about for a while now, does not clarify if this will apply to K1s but as that subject matter is of particular interest to me, I'm curious if it will. And if it does, and the K1 turns into the UK style 'get married and then get out' type of visa instead of using VWP/AOS, it will see a surge of applications. A K1 is always asking the federal government for permission to marry in the US, which is in reality silly because you are always free to marry in the US regardless of the fed's say so - really what the K1 is truly asking for is permission to marry + adjust.

 

Furthermore I'm curious how this will affect the wedding tourist industry. People get married freely in this country all the time, and they are certainly allowed to do so as we are still a free country and the federal government has no jurisdiction over the domain of marriage. If adjusting is now never allowed inside the country, you can imagine IO's will apply a higher risk assessment to those coming on B2 or VWP for the purpose of marriage. 

Edited 3 hours ago by yuna628
rambling some further thoughts this morning before coffee

[Edward and Jaycel 2,702]

1 minute ago, yuna628 said:

does not clarify if this will apply to K1s

 

I would have to say not since the K-1 is a nonimmigrant visa that is specifically codified in the INA as an "Immigrant Intent" visa

[Crazy Cat 46,637]

5 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

you can imagine IO's will apply a higher risk assessment to those coming on B2 or VWP for the purpose of marriage. 

But if they cannot enter and adjust status from a B2 or VWP, I would think the risk is lower for abuse of the immigration system. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Crazy Cat

[Daphne . 2,179]

12 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

But if they cannot enter and adjust status from a B2 or VWP, I would think the risk is lower for abuse of the immigration system. 

Exactly! So that should be a win-win situation. 

[yuna628 10,001]

Just now, Crazy Cat said:

But if they cannot enter and adjust status from a B2 or VWP, I would think the risk is lower. 

You would think that.... but I'm looking at this skeptically. I tend to think this thinking is silly in this memo. If a person is going to adjust their status via marriage they are ultimately going through a bunch of hardships whether they realize it or not and I suspect in most cases end up proving their intent and ability to sponsor or else they just stay in the shadows. This memo will never prevent people from doing things illegally it is just preventing people from using options once legally available to them. For years the CBP tells people not to get married on VWP even though they know otherwise, and my question has always been, why is the government lying? The feds cannot prevent someone from marrying, and if they did we're going to a very bad place.

 

I come at this from the perspective of someone familiar with the UK system. Since they have more control over marriage and who can and can't. Those coming for tourism purposes were viewed with high suspicion when they needed to visit their fiancés/bfs/gfs even though there was no real way for them to marry without applying for the UK's version of a K1 in the first place let alone apply to remain. You'd think it would be lower but it wasn't, and it causes difficulty for many couples to this day.

 

15 minutes ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

I would have to say not since the K-1 is a nonimmigrant visa that is specifically codified in the INA as an "Immigrant Intent" visa

You'd think that, maybe even hope that. But I remain skeptical. And look it's not that I haven't frowned upon the VWP-adjusters route for a long time. But then I realized what an absolute nightmare this system is, and we continue to just make it worse for everyone involved.

[Boiler 48,999]

I also remember when the UK did something similar, I forget the reason they used but it was understood why it was needed.

Edited 3 hours ago by Boiler

[Crazy Cat 46,637]

28 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

This memo will never prevent people from doing things illegally

Oh, it absolutely will prevent people from "situation changes at baggage claim", it seems to me........and we know that happens.   It has been too easy for someone to misrepresent their intent. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Crazy Cat

[Edward and Jaycel 2,702]

8 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

You'd think that, maybe even hope that. But I remain skeptical.

 

I get the skepticism however a Policy Memo cannot rewrite the law and Section 214(d)(1) of the INA [8 U.S.C. 1184(d)(1)] explicitly mandates Adjustment of Status (AOS) as the intended and legally required route to a Green Card for a K-1 visa holder who fulfills the marriage requirement. 

[yuna628 10,001]

5 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Oh, it will prevent people from "situation changes at baggage claim"........we know that happens. 

Sure.. but, let me ask this..

 

Does it matter if the couple gets married and one of them goes back home, files papers, waits some years and then comes back with successful green card?

 

Does slow-walking them really change the ultimate outcome?

 

I mean after coming on the K1, my husband certainly had the option to go back home if he wanted, we could have applied abroad and waited even longer for his already stupidly long green card to arrive? Would this have helped us in any way or made anyone feel more comfortable somehow?

 

I will assume there is just as much fraud on all different types of visas as there are VWP-adjusters? But there are also legitimate couples too and I feel great empathy for them.

[JeanneAdil 7,526]

Adil told me of this , so i read the post from immigration

What does this mean for those now going thru AOS (after a B2, etc)?

Will they find out they must return home as there is no start day so i must assume it is immediately

will those that have applied and denied under this memo , now have an overstay?

 

interesting part of this memo is the following

Aliens may be paroled into the United States “temporarily” on a case-by-case basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” Paroled aliens, “when the purposes of such parole shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, have been served” are expected to depart the United States or return (or be returned) to the custody of DHS

 

so, now , are we going to ignore those here on "humanitarian "  issues? and who (i know it says secretary of homeland security) but who actually will review and decide the "purposes of parole" have been served?

 

this memo leaves a lot of questions and doubts rather than clearing the issue(s)

[Crazy Cat 46,637]

4 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

I will assume there is just as much fraud on all different types of visas as there are VWP-adjusters?

I would say that the vetting process is much stronger for an immigrant visa than for VWP adjusters. 

[Crazy Cat 46,637]

5 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

“temporarily”

A key word.  The memo states that a temporary visit should not be the first step in obtaining a green card.