On April 27, 2021, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reinstated a 2004 policy that addresses the issue of deference in prior petition determinations in order to create “efficient and fair adjudication of immigration benefits.” In an EB5 Investors article discussing this newly restored guidance, Jackson Walker partner Christian Triantaphyllis shared insights on the old policy, which led to processing delays and backlogged visas, and the updated policy.

In the article, Christian noted:

“When USCIS dropped this deference policy in 2017, USCIS chose to stop giving deference to prior approvals when adjudicating applications for extensions of status, even when the previous application had been approved and no substantive changes had occurred from the time of the approval to the time of filing the extension, and that helped USCIS essentially create an “administrative wall” that delayed and discouraged immigration filings across the board.

Now with this deference policy back in place under the Biden Administration, USCIS will consider a previous approval as a strong factor indicating the extension of status application should also be approved, and in turn, that should create a more streamlined and predictable U.S. immigration system with fewer needless delays caused by USCIS.”

To read more, visit the EB5 Investors article “USCIS reinstates deference policy to speed up EB-5 and other petition adjudications.”

Meet Christian

Christian A. Triantaphyllis is an immigration and real estate attorney with first-hand experience representing foreign nationals and immigrant investors in cross-border and business immigration matters. He regularly serves as counsel to real estate developers and regional centers to facilitate EB-5 projects. Christian has deep experience assisting foreign nationals from around the world through the EB-5 visa program, preparing and filing I-526 and I-829 petitions. He also assists foreign nationals with establishing start-up companies in the United States and advises employers on obtaining temporary work visas and permanent resident status for current and prospective employees.

For questions related to EB-5 and other visas, contact Christian at ctriantaphyllis@jw.com.