U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is implementing a new process, referred to as Bona Fide Determination, which will give victims of crime in the United States access to employment authorization sooner. USCIS will deem a petition bona fide if:
- The principal petitioner properly filed Form 1-918, including Form 1-918B U Nonimmigrant Status Certification
- The principal petitioner filed a declaration describing the facts of victimization; and
- The result of the principal petitioner’s biometrics has been received
USCIS will AUTOMATICALLY issue employment authorization and deferred action if, after conducting and reviewing background checks, the agency determines, in its discretion, that petitioners merit a favorable exercise of discretion and do not pose a risk to national security or public safety. There’s nothing more applicants need to do to apply. Please be patient as we have no idea how long it will take the government to reach this determination on your case. USCIS needs to review over 270,000 cases to determine who is eligible for this determination and employment authorization.
This guidance is effective immediately and applies to all Form I-918 and Form I-918A petitions that are currently pending or filed on or after June 14, 2021.
We will notify our clients as soon as we receive any notification from USCIS. Please be sure to keep your contact information current with our office so we can provide an update when the time comes.