The Department of Homeland Security announced on Aug. 28, 2017, that beginning on Oct. 1, USCIS will begin requiring in-person interviews at local District Offices for adjustment of status applications based on employment, as well as certain refugee/asylee relative petitions.

In the past, USCIS did not require an in-person interview adjustment of status applications based on employment, and only conducted these interviews on rare case-by-case bases.  The purpose of these interviews is to verify the information in the application and to determine the credibility of the individual seeking permanent residence. The current processing times for each service center processing Adjustment of Status applications based on employment are as follows:

The applications to adjust status will need to first be processed by USCIS, after which it will be sent to the local district office for an interview to be scheduled.  Due to the already backlogged timelines as indicated in the chart above, adding this extra step will further add to the processing times.  Please note that if the applicant and his or her dependents do file Adjustment of Status applications, they will receive work and travel authorization within 90-120 days of submission.