23 Sep 2026 USCIS To Issue Instant Denials
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a Policy Alert, warning people that USCIS may immediately deny any benefit request (a petition or application) if the applicant “fails to demonstrate eligibility for a benefit or fails to provide all required initial evidence when filing the application, without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID).”
This is important because now, if you are missing a required document, or perhaps filled out the form incorrectly, or checked the wrong box, USCIS may not give you the opportunity to provide additional documentation or information but instead will deny the case outright. Under Trump, it may also result in a person being placed in removal/deportation if, as a result of the denial, they are now out of status.
In the past, when a person filed a petition, application, request for work authorization, or other immigration benefit, and they did not submit all the required initial evidence (as listed on the USCIS’s website for the particular benefit), the USCIS would issue an RFE, requesting the applicant provide the additional or missing information or documentation within 87 days. If the person failed to do so, then USCIS would issue a denial.
Under this new policy, USCIS may no longer issue an RFE if documents or information are not initially provided. According to the Policy Alert, “USCIS has full discretion to deny the request without first issuing an RFE or NOID in various situations, including, but not limited to, when the benefit request has no legal basis for approval or when the requestor fails to provide required initial evidence.”
The Trump administration believes that many people are filing frivolous applications, with no legal basis, just to buy time, obtain a work authorization, etc. and take advantage of the case pending and work authorization while waiting for a decision on their case. In other words, a person might file a bogus petition or adjustment of status (for which they are not eligible) just to obtain a work authorization while the case was pending. According to USCIS, “this prior policy allowed frivolous or substantially incomplete filings to slow USCIS processing for others waiting in line.”
While it is true that some people try to “game the system” by filing for immigration benefits to which they are not entitled, just to get a work authorization, there are many more people who are legitimately eligible for the immigration benefit and may have inadvertently overlooked including a particular document, such as a birth certificate or marriage contract, affidavit of support, etc. Now, these people risk denial and possible issuance of a notice to appear (NTA).
That is why, even if you are truly eligible for an immigration benefit, you may want to consult with or retain an attorney to help you fully package your application, to make sure all the required “initial evidence” is included, that you are eligible for the benefit, and that the forms are properly filled out, which could greatly increase the chances for approval and, more importantly, reduce the risks of a denial in deportation.
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