On August 19, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they have updated their policy manual regarding the discretionary factors that officers may consider in deciding whether to grant certain requested immigrant benefits, including any activity deemed to be "anti-American." Such activity may include social media posts espousing anti-American or antisemitic ideologies or involvement in anti-American or terrorist organizations. This updated policy is effective immediately, and USCIS has made it clear that the presence of anti-American factors will have an overwhelmingly negative impact on eligibility for discretionary immigration benefits, including:
- Petitions or applications for an extension of stay or change of status (e.g., Form I-129 petition to extend H-1B status, Form I-539 application for change of status to H-4, etc.).
- Applications for an adjustment of status (i.e., Form I-485).
- Applications for employment authorization (i.e., Form I-765).
- Applications for parole (i.e., Form I-131).
- Certain employment-based petitions, including EB-2 national interest waiver petitions and EB-5 investor petitions involving threats to national interest, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, and criminal misuse.
USCIS also clarified that when conducting discretionary analyses, officers will broadly consider facts relating to a foreign national's conduct, character, family ties, immigration history, and humanitarian concerns. This policy update reflects the Trump administration's continued efforts to heighten the scrutiny of foreign nationals seeking to live and work in the U.S. Accordingly, we continue to strongly encourage our clients to ensure that their foreign national employees remain cognizant of their social media presence, particularly regarding political or controversial posts of any nature. Moreover, foreign national employees should thoroughly vet any organizations in the U.S. or abroad before becoming involved.
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