USCIS to Consider “Anti-Americanism” in Immigrant Benefit Requests
USCIS has issued new guidance directing officers to weigh whether a foreign national supports or promotes ideologies or organizations deemed “anti-American” when deciding certain immigration benefit requests.
Scope: Applies to extensions or changes of nonimmigrant status, Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applications, adjustment of status, and other discretionary adjudications.
Key Changes:
Support for “anti-American” or terrorist-linked ideologies/organizations, including antisemitic groups, will be treated as a heavily negative factor.
Social media activity will be reviewed more broadly to detect such affiliations.
Adjudicators may also consider fraud in financial support documents for humanitarian parole.
Definition: “Anti-American” is not specifically defined; USCIS will reference statutory bars tied to communism, totalitarianism, anarchism, violent overthrow of the U.S. government, sabotage, or terrorism, but officers retain broad discretion.
Context: These factors join longstanding considerations like criminal history, family ties, employment record, public safety, and humanitarian concerns.
Bottom line: USCIS is expanding scrutiny of applicants, particularly their ideological affiliations and social media activity, making support for “anti-American” groups a major negative factor in discretionary immigration decisions.
