USCIS Updates Certain Immigration Policies

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") has issued updates to several longstanding policies in its USCIS Policy Manual, aimed at "eliminat[ing] policies that fail to promote access to the legal immigration system," and "mak[ing] improvements that help individuals navigate the path to citizenship, and that modernize our immigration system," according to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas.

The changes include:

Employment Authorization Documents: Big news here! The updated policy guidance will increase the current one-year validity period on both initial and renewal employment authorization documents (EADs) to two years, for certain adjustment of status applicants. Increasing the validity period on EADs for certain adjustment applicants is expected to reduce the number of employment authorization requests USCIS receives, and allow the agency to shift limited resources to other priority areas (which one can only hope will reduce the