USCIS Policy Memo Giving Discretion to Officers to Deny Petitions Without RFE

16 Jul USCIS Policy Memo Giving Discretion to Officers to Deny Petitions Without RFE

On July 13th, USCIS issued a policy memorandum that provides guidance to USCIS adjudicators giving them full discretion to deny an application, petition or request without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) if all the required evidence to establish eligibility for a benefit is not submitted with the initial benefit request. Moreover, if the RFE response raises additional issues, USCIS adjudicating officers are permitted to issue a follow-up RFE. This guidance goes into effect on September 11, 2018.