In June 2018, USCIS circulated a new policy memo providing guidance on when cases should be referred for deportation proceedings and when Notices to Appear (“NTAs”) should be issued in instances where applicants are deemed inadmissible or deportable.  Implementation of the new policy was delayed as USCIS determined how exactly the new policy would be put into action.  While we have yet to see how implementation will take shape, the policy is now in force and will be incrementally rolled out.

Law360 discusses what the new policy means for foreign nationals whose status-bearing applications are denied.  The article quotes Paul Virtue who states that the memo is “clearly designed to ensure that a decision not to issue an NTA should rarely be taken.”  Read the article here.  USCIS has also released Q&As from its September 27, 2018 stakeholder teleconference on the new policy memo.