From CLINIC: Bona Fide U Status Applicants to be Given Deferred Action and EADs
USCIS issued a policy alert announcing changes to the Policy Manual that would implement USCIS’s authority to perform bona fide determinations for U Nonimmigrant Status applications in the backlog and provide Employment Authorization Documents, or EADs, and deferred action to those who meet certain discretionary standards. The policy states that:
USCIS will perform an initial review of Form I-918 to determine if the application is bona fide.
If the application is deemed bona fide, USCIS will evaluate whether the applicant is a threat to national security or public safety and whether the applicant warrants a favorable exercise of discretion to receive an EAD and deferred action.
If both conditions above are met, USCIS will issue EADs and deferred action for four years instead of completing a full waiting list adjudication.
Derivatives may also be eligible for an EAD if they independently demonstrate their application is bona fide.
Those who do not receive an EAD under this initial review will proceed to the full waiting list adjudication and, if their petitions are approvable, will be placed on the waiting list for a U visa.
USCIS will generally not conduct waiting list adjudications for noncitizens who have been granted EADs and deferred action during initial review. Instead, their next adjudicative step will be final adjudication for U nonimmigrant status when space is available under the statutory cap.
This policy applies to all Form I-918 petitions pending on June 14, 2021, and all petitions filed on or after that date.
The new guidance also clarifies that USCIS is adopting the decision issued by the Ninth Circuit in Medina Tovar v. Zuchowski for nationwide application. Therefore, when confirming a relationship between the principal petitioner and the qualifying family member that is based on marriage, USCIS will evaluate whether the relationship existed at the time the principal petition was favorably adjudicated, rather than when the principal petition was filed.
The information above was provided by CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.)