Implementaion of New NTA Policy

September 28th, 2018
Posted By
Heather Sivaraman

USCIS Implements New NTA Policy Memorandum

Beginning October 1, 2018, USCIS will begin to implement the “Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTA) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens Policy Memorandum,” which was announced on June 28, 2018.

These NTAs instruct individuals to appear in immigration court and are the first step in alien removal. NTAs may now be issued by USCIS impacting applications such as Form I-485 and Form I-539.

USCIS intends to provide adequate notice, so applicants can make arrangement to leave before their period of authorized stay elapses. If they lose that status and do not leave, USCIS may then issue an NTA. USCIS will inform applicants how they can check their status and period of stay to ensure their travel compliance.

According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, USCIS will take an incremental approach to implementing this new policy.

What this does not affect

The new NTA policy memorandum does not affect employment-based petitions, nor does it affect humanitarian applications and petitions. Likewise, this policy memorandum does not change the issuance of NTAs for criminal records, fraud, or national security concerns, though it and the executive order that it addresses mention them specifically. USCIS will still prioritize these cases over others.

For Further Information

Read about the Thursday September 27th Teleconference USCIS hosted to explain the new policy. Therein, we also outlined the seven stipulations that Executive Order 13768 outlined.

Visit USCIS’s Notice to Appear Policy Memorandum page for official information.

This blog post does not serve as legal advice and does not establish any client-attorney privilege. Do not take any action based on the information contained in this post without consulting a qualified immigration attorney. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our legal team directly.

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This information comes from AILA Doc. No. 18092634.

Categories: Immigration News