08/05/2026
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a new policy letter clarifying that applicants requesting immigration statuses and benefits must establish eligibility for the immigration request at the time they file the application. To do so, they must submit all required evidence and materials with the application request. USCIS indicates that failure to demonstrate eligibility or provide all the required initial evidence with the application may result in an immediate denial.
Under previous policies, officers were encouraged to first request additional evidence before denying a benefit request by issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). Now, USCIS seeks to reduce "frivolous" or substantially incomplete filings to reduce processing wait times for others in the application queue.
This policy is effective immediately and applies to requests pending or filed on or after Aug. 5, 2026, unless otherwise specified by regulations or USCIS policy.
More information can be found in the policy letter here:
https://links-2.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fwww.uscis.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fdocument%2Fpolicy-manual-updates%2F20260805-EvidentiaryStandards.pdf/1/0101019fd3581804-f690b1ac-d10b-4103-98d3-b36129aae353-000000/D1csiR1juq5Cj0LN17LJtyRHi_5AXfKgVIjMMMQ0YBg=452
https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-to-reduce-frivolous-immigration-benefits-requests-by-reinforcing-evidence-standards
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is clarifying that benefit requestors should establish eligibility for an immigration benefit at the time they file a benefit request.
