Immigration authorities in the US will soon require some green card applicants to undergo an in-person interview. The move is likely to see the process of getting a green card slow down further, and potentially jam an already severely backlogged US visa system, according to media reports.
Carter Langston, a US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesman, confirmed the new requirement on Friday. It will apply to anyone attempting to move to legal permanent residency from an employment-based US visa, Politico revealed. Family members of those granted asylum, or refugees who hold US visas, will also have to attend an in-person interview on making an application for provisional status, which is the stage before getting a green card, USCIS stated.
According to the report, the new policy takes effect from 1 October. Almost 168,000 immigrants in the two categories gained lawful permanent residency in the 2015 fiscal year, Department of Homeland Security annual statistics show, with around 122,000 changing to a green card from an employment-based US visa. The mandate for an in-person interview is part of President Donald Trump’s plan to increase the vetting of visitors and immigrants coming to the US.
Langston says that there will be an expansion of the US visa categories that necessitate in-person interviews in the future, as part of a strategy to improve the US detection of security risks and fraud. The report noted that such a need is not technically new, but waived under previous administrations.