New FBI vetting by USCIS for Green Cards: Who will be affected?

Green Card applications will now get a stronger FBI background check.

Checking the FBI database to vet immigration applications is not new, but now the USCIS has gained greater access to the FBI’s criminal history database as a new enhanced security checking begins. CBS News reported that the administration has asked to pause some cases as the new changes are being implemented. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services distributed internal guidance to its officers instruction thm to resubmit pending applications for immigration benefits, including asylum, Green Cards and US citizenship, to enhanced FBI background checks.Officers were directed to refrain from approving any pending cases that have not undergone the expanded background checks.The order directed the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI, to provide USCIS access to its criminal history database “to the maximum extent permitted by law” to identify criminal actors.USCIS officers were directed to re-submit fingerprint-based screenings if the FBI information for the cases in question was received before April 27. Officers were told the resubmissions are not necessary if they intend to deny an application.USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler told CBS that the agency had “implemented new security checks to strengthen the vetting and screening of applicants through expanded access to federal criminal databases.”“Processing is ongoing as we apply these enhanced background check requirements. Any delay in decision issuance should be brief and resolved shortly,” Kahler said. “USCIS will always prioritize the safety of the American people.”

Who will be affected by the new move?

Anyone with their cases pending as of April 27 can face this new scrutiny but the USCIS said the delays should be short. H-1B visas do not come under this as this is meant for immigrants, while H-1B and other job visas are non-immigrant visas.List of services likely to be affected