During the night of last Wednesday, April 22, the Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCISfor its acronym in English), the federal immigration authority of the United States, activated a process of exhaustive review of files related to all the green cards granted between January 20, 2021 and on January 20, 2025.
The USCIS noted that the reexamination of identification cards permanent residentofficial documents that allow foreign citizens live and work permanently in the United States, seeks to strengthen all national security controls and ensure that benefits have been granted under the criteria suitable.
Therefore, the USCIS review will presumably reach applicants and holders of an green cardas well as asylum beneficiaries and other humanitarian protection programs during the former president’s government Joe Biden, where it is estimated that 530 thousand Immigrants took refuge in temporary permit programs.
“The current USCIS checks will be more rigorous and all those affected must prepare to face the consequences“he added Joseph Edlowdirector of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, who assured that this decision has the full support of the American president Donald Trump.
Strengthen the immigration system
Joseph Edlow mentioned that this process responds to internal evaluations carried out in March, when USCIS concluded that the filters applied during the presidential term of Joe Biden (2021-2025) resulted insufficientso the initiative implies a tightening in the review of files approved in that period.
USCIS’s decision to re-examine permanent residence files is due to a new federal strategy of US President Donald Trump, focused on strengthening the integrity of the immigration process. Consequently, the main objective is to detect fraud either inconsistencies and increase the number of deportations.
Given this situation, the Republican president reported that the controls applied during Joe Biden’s government do not comply with the current standards. Therefore, this new USCIS revision will put special attention to files related to people originating from countries identified as high risk.
“The institutional objective is to guarantee that the immigration benefits granted are supported by information precise and verifiable. The review focuses on the validity of the documentation presented, background checks and the detection of possible cases of fraud”added Edlow, who plays a key role in this process.
Who will be the main affected?
- Foreigners who obtained the green card between January 20, 2021 and on January 20, 2025.
- Applicants and beneficiaries of asylum or other humanitarian protection programs during the government of Joe Biden.
- Migrants whose files they presented inconsistencies or insufficient documentation during the process.
- Immigrants from countries classified as high risk by the Department of Homeland Security: Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Burkina Faso and Venezuela.