USCIS’s New FBI Examination of Green Cards: Who Will Be Affected? –

FBI database checks to screen immigration applications are nothing new, but now USCIS has gained greater access to the FBI’s criminal history database with the launch of a new enhanced background check.

The administration has asked to pause some cases while the new changes are implemented, CBS News reported. USCIS has distributed internal guidance to its employees directing them to resubmit pending applications for immigration benefits, including asylum, green cards, and U.S. citizenship, to enhanced FBI background checks.Officers have been directed to refrain from approving any pending cases that have not been subject to expanded background checks.The order ordered the Department of Justice, which oversees the FBI, to provide USCIS with access to its criminal history database “to the maximum extent permitted by law” to identify criminal actors.USCIS officers have been directed to resubmit fingerprint-based checks if FBI information on the cases in question is received before April 27. Officers were told that resubmissions were not necessary if they intended to reject the application.

Zach Kahler, a spokesman for USCIS, told CBS that the agency “has implemented new background checks to enhance the screening and vetting of applicants by expanding access to federal criminal databases.”“Processing is ongoing as we implement enhanced background check requirements. Any delay in issuing a decision should be brief and resolved soon,” Kahler said. “USCIS will always prioritize the safety of the American people.”

Who will be affected by the new step?

Anyone with their cases pending as of April 27 could face this new scrutiny, but USCIS said the delay should be short. H-1B visas do not fall under this because they are intended for immigrants, while H-1B and other work visas are non-immigrant visas.List of services that are likely to be affected