Policy Memoranda

This page provides access to various policy and procedural memoranda, which guides USCIS adjudicators as they process applications and petitions for immigration benefits while still protecting national security. In addition to the USCIS Policy Manual, USCIS policy memoranda contain the official policies of USCIS and assist immigration officers in rendering decisions. These policy memoranda are to be followed by USCIS officers in the performance of their duties but do not remove their discretion in making adjudicatory decisions. The policy memoranda do not create any substantive or procedural rights or benefits that are legally enforceable by any party against the United States, or its agencies or officers or any other person.

Policy memoranda that have been partially or fully superseded by the USCIS Policy Manual have been stamped and archived in the USCIS History and Library collection. If you have bookmarked links to affected memos, you will now be redirected to the USCIS Policy Manual where you may find current policy.

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Instructions for Handling Regressed Visa Number (Employment-Based and Family-Based) Adjustment of Status Cases Interviewed at USCIS Field Offices; Revision to Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) Chapter 20.1 (e) (AFM Update AD 11-02) (PDF, 414.77 KB)

January 11, 2011

Approval of Petitions and Applications after the Death of the Qualifying Relative under New Section 204(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act; (PDF, 1.13 MB)

January 07, 2011

Revisions to Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM): New Chapter 10.21 and an Amendment to Chapter 21.2(h)(1)(C) (AFM Update AD-10-51)

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Overturns the Permanent Injunction Issued by the District Court in Ruiz Diaz v. United States, No. 09 35734 (9th Cir. Aug. 20, 2010) (PDF, 64.93 KB)

January 06, 2011

Revisions to the Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) Chapter 22.3(b)(1), AFM Update AD11-01

Model Plan for Administrative Naturalization Ceremonies; Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) Update AD 10-53 (PDF, 314.71 KB)

December 20, 2010

Waivers of Inadmissibility and Grants of Status for Certain Aliens Seeking Nonimmigrant Status in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI); Addition to the Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) Chapter 36.4 (PDF, 67.3 KB)

December 14, 2010

Fee Waiver Guidelines as Established by the Final Rule of the USCIS Fee Schedule; Revisions to Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) Chapter 10.9 (AFM Update AD11-05) (PDF, 110.5 KB)

November 22, 2010

Validity of Puerto Rico Birth Certificates as Evidence (AFM Update AD10-43) (PDF, 163.45 KB)

September 20, 2010

Guidance on Uniform Denial Language Pertaining to Appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals Revisions to Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) Chapter 10.7(b) (AFM Update AD10-25)

August 26, 2010

William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008: Changes to T and U Nonimmigrant Status and Adjustment of Status Provisions; Revisions to Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) Chapters 23.5 and 39 (AFM Update AD10-38) (PDF, 462.73 KB)

July 21, 2010

Extension of U Nonimmigrant Status for Derivative Family Members Using the Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-539) Revisions to Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM), New Chapter 39.1 (g)(2)(i)(AFM Update AD10-08) (PDF, 103.37 KB)

June 22, 2010

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