Washington DC [US], August 6 (ANI): Former adviser to ex-US President Joe Biden, Ajay Bhutoria, has criticised the new policy change by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) allowing officials to deny incomplete visa, green card and other immigration benefit applications without first seeking additional evidence, calling the move a “major step backwards” for due process and administrative fairness.
Reacting to the revised policy, Bhutoria said the decision to permit outright denials without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) would disproportionately affect genuine applicants navigating the complex US immigration system.
He argued that the earlier policy recognised the complexity of the US immigration system and ensured that genuine applicants were not denied benefits because of minor procedural errors.
“The recent decision by USCIS to allow outright denials without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) is a major step backwards for basic due process, administrative fairness, and procedural justice. During the Biden-Harris administration, encouraging officers to issue RFEs before issuing rejections was designed to ensure that minor clerical errors, missing documentation, or misunderstood technical requirements didn’t derail legitimate applications,” Bhutoria, who is also an immigration advocate, said.
He argued that the policy would disproportionately affect vulnerable applicants, including those without legal representation, non-native English speakers and asylum seekers.
“Re-labelling initial evidentiary gaps as ‘frivolous’ or ‘placeholder’ filings unfairly penalises unrepresented families, non-native English speakers, and asylum seekers navigating an extraordinarily complex system, prioritising harsh procedural traps over fair and accurate adjudications,” he added.
Bhutoria also disputed USCIS’s claim that the policy would improve efficiency, arguing it would instead force applicants to refile cases or pursue legal remedies.
“Furthermore, shutting the door on RFEs will ultimately backfire on agency efficiency rather than reduce backlogs. Abruptly denying applicants over fixable omissions forces individuals to re-file entirely, pay duplicate fees, or seek costly federal court litigation–clogging the administrative system far more than a simple request for missing documents would,” the former advisor said.
Calling for reforms focused on improving the immigration system rather than tightening procedural requirements, the former advisor stated that the practice of issuing RFEs before denials could ultimately increase the administrative burden on the immigration system instead of improving efficiency.
“True operational efficiency is achieved by modernising filing tools, expanding outreach, and increasing staffing to process cases fairly, not by stripping away procedural safeguards for individuals who are simply trying to navigate legal immigration pathways in good faith,” Bhutoria added.
His remarks come after the United States tightened its immigration benefit processing rules, allowing USCIS officers to deny incomplete or insufficiently documented applications for visas, green cards and other immigration benefits without first requesting additional evidence, a move that could affect thousands of Indian applicants.
According to a USCIS press release, applicants are required to establish their eligibility for an immigration benefit at the time of filing.
If an applicant fails to demonstrate eligibility or does not submit all the required initial evidence, USCIS may deny the request without issuing an RFE or NOID.
The agency said its application forms and accompanying instructions clearly specify the evidence required for each immigration benefit, enabling applicants to submit complete requests at the time of filing.
USCIS further stated that the updated guidance aligns its procedures with the US Department of Homeland Security’s long-standing regulatory authority, strengthens the integrity of the immigration system and makes it more difficult for applicants to submit frivolous benefit requests.
The revised guidance reverses a policy introduced during the Biden administration, under which immigration officers were generally encouraged to issue RFEs before denying benefit requests, even when applications were incomplete or lacked required evidence at the time of filing.
According to USCIS, the previous policy allowed incomplete or substantially deficient applications to delay the processing of other pending cases and enabled some applicants to file “placeholder” applications to obtain associated immigration benefits, including employment authorisation, while their cases remained pending.
The agency said it has restored officers’ discretion to deny benefit requests without first issuing an RFE or NOID in appropriate cases, adding that the revised policy would help allocate resources more efficiently, speed up decision-making and discourage meritless filings.
The new policy took effect immediately and applies to immigration benefit requests pending or filed on or after August 5, 2026, unless otherwise provided under existing regulations or USCIS policy. (ANI)
Related reading
