USCIS to Drop Gang-Related Questions from Green Card Form
By Robert Law on May 27, 2021
The process for an alien seeking lawful permanent resident status (a green card) depends on where the alien is physically located at the time of application. An alien outside of the United States who is the beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition and for whom an immigrant visa number is immediately available applies at a Department of State consulate abroad for the immigrant visa. This process is referred to as consular processing. Conversely, aliens already in the United States in some kind of nonimmigrant status apply for their green cards with the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This process is referred to as adjustment of status, and aliens apply using the Form I-485.
Unlike naturalization, adjustment of status is a discretionary immigration benefit. That means that approval requires a two-part analysis: (1) Does the alien meet all statutory and regulatory eligibility criteria; and (2) if yes, does the alien merit a favorable exercise of the adjudicator’s discretion? As the USCIS Policy Manual explains, “The favorable exercise of discretion and the approval of a discretionary adjustment of status application is a matter of administrative grace, which means that the application is worthy of favorable consideration.” The Policy Manual further explains that the applicant has the burden of proving he or she warrants a favorable exercise of discretion and must supply relevant and material information for that analysis.
https://cis.org/Law/USCIS-Drop-GangRelated-Questions-Green-Card-Form
