Stricter Vetting: USCIS Raises Bar for Immigration Benefits

The latest episode of Parsing Immigration Policy features Elizabeth Jacobs, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, discussing USCIS’s updated guidance on discretion in immigration benefits.

Key Points:

Beyond “Not a Criminal”: New USCIS policy updates require officers to engage in a more holistic analysis of whether naturalization applicants demonstrate “good moral character,” a requirement for naturalization that has been a part of U.S. immigration law since the beginning. In addition, the agency is now asking officers to consider any anti-American, antisemetic, or terrorist activity as “overwhelmingly negative” factors when evaluating whether an applicant warrants a positive grant of discretion.

Discretionary Benefits: Many immigration benefits under the INA — including asylum, national interest waivers under EB-2, and naturalization — are discretionary. Even if eligibility requirements are met, USCIS officers may deny them.

Good Moral Character Assessments:

• Traditionally treated as a checklist; now assessed holistically.
• Focuses on demonstrating positive attributes and rehabilitation, not just the absence of misconduct.

Negative Factors for Discretionary Denials: Officers are instructed to treat support for anti-American ideologies, antisemitism, and terrorism as “overwhelmingly negative factors” when exercising discretion on discretionary immigration benefit requests.

Expanded Use of Vetting Tools:

• Increased use of social media screening, fraud detection, and neighborhood/personal investigations.
• Previous policies often waived these investigations; the update clarifies they are a standard part of discretion.

Balancing Efficiency and Vetting: With millions of applications annually, USCIS must balance rigorous vetting with timely processing. The agency is shifting culture to prioritize serving the American people, not just applicants.

Cultural Shift: USCIS is shifting emphasis from serving as a “service agency” to serving as a vetting agency, using the discretion granted by Congress to protect national security and uphold American values — a departure from prior policies favoring mass approvals.

Immigration Newsmaker Interview: USCIS Director Joe Edlow will be featured today in an Immigration Newsmaker conversation hosted by CIS at the National Press Club. The video will be available at cis.org.

Host

Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guest

Elizabeth Jacobs is the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Policy at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Related

USCIS to Consider Anti-Americanism, Antisemitism, and Terrorist Activity When Adjudicating Certain Immigration Benefit Requests

CIS National Security Vetting Failures Database

Intro Montage

Voices in the opening montage:

• Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.
• Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.
• President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.
• Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.
• Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.
• Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.
• Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.
• Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.
• Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.
• Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.
• Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".