USCIS announces updates to increased screening and vetting procedures

On March 30, 2026, USCIS announced updates to its enhanced vetting procedures. The agency implemented processes to lift benefit processing holds for designated individuals and groups, including those vetted through Operation PARRIS, select petitions by U.S. citizens, intercountry adoption forms, certain rescheduled oath ceremonies, statutory and regulatory decision issuances, refugee registrations for South African citizens or nationals, special immigrant visa petitions, some employment authorization documents, and asylum applications from countries not considered high-risk. As of April 30, 2026, applications related to medical physicians were added to the category for which processing holds have been removed; this update was made without a specified date.

As a reminder, in response to executive orders and presidential proclamations, USCIS issued Policy Memoranda to reinforce national security. These memoranda include: Hold and Review of all Pending Asylum Applications and all USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from High-Risk Countries (PM-602-0192), Hold and Review of Pending USCIS Adjustment of Status Applications Filed by Aliens Under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (PM-602-0193), and Hold and Review of USCIS Benefit Application Filed by Aliens from Additional High-Risk Countries (PM-602-0194). These documents established holds on asylum applications, benefit requests from high-risk countries, and diversity visa adjustment of status applications, among other actions.

Enhanced screening and vetting

Following the policy memoranda, USCIS adopted several initiatives to strengthen screening and vetting:

Shortened validity for employment authorization documents to allow for frequent security checks.

Updated photo reuse policies to enhance identity verification and biometric accuracy.

Expanded the use of social media and financial vetting, and incorporated community interviews.

Initiated Operation PARRIS for more in-depth background checks and merit reviews.

Enhanced system connectivity for automatic alerts of biometric and criminal records.

Instituted final reviews of arrest records and State Department databases before making decisions.

Internal review process

USCIS established an internal multi-office review process for lifting holds on cases. This applies to cases involving Operation PARRIS vetting, petitions from U.S. citizens, rescheduled oath ceremonies, refugee registrations for South Africans, specific immigrant visa petitions, employment authorization documents, asylum applications, and medical physician-related cases. Application reviews remain ongoing.

Country-specific risk analysis

USCIS collects country-specific data for nations subject to travel bans and works with the State Department to identify risks. Screening recommendations are updated based on this analysis.

Enhanced vetting plan

USCIS is developing an updated vetting plan that integrates classified and unclassified information, expands criminal background checks, improves identity verification, and includes ad hoc security checks.

Adjudicator guidance

New guidance is being developed for adjudicators to allocate interviews based on country-specific risk factors, including document reliability and connections to foreign terrorist organizations.