On Tuesday, USCIS issued new policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual that guides officers to consider past determinations for extension requests that maintain the same people and facts, barring any material changes, original errors, or new facts.This change means a return to the long-standing guidance issued in 2004, which was rescinded in 2017.
The Department of Homeland Security and USCIS says that giving deference to prior approvals “promotes efficient and fair adjudication of immigration benefits,” and follows President Biden’s executive order, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans.