In an Executive Order issued in March 2017, President Trump set forth his plans to protect the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States by enhancing the vetting protocols and procedures for visas and other immigration benefits. The tougher vetting protocols aim to prevent the entry of foreign nationals into the United States who will commit crimes or terrorist attacks. These protocols also seek to ensure the collection of all information necessary to more rigorously evaluate all grounds of inadmissibility or deportability for the denial of other immigration benefits. For example, the government is likely to more strictly enforce consequences for failing to maintain status—which is unrelated to terrorism and a common transgression.
Furthermore, the administration plans to issue new rules and guidance regarding such enforcement. These heightened vetting and enforcement procedures could significantly slow the immigration process for many foreign-nationals and could potentially increase the documentation and evidence they would need to provide or the number of interviews they would have to attend during the application process. Moving forward, it will be interesting to note how the Trump Administration balances the difficult task of keeping Americans safe with effectively and efficiently administering immigration law and policy. While we do not yet know what these new rules, regulations, or guidance might entail, clients can take comfort in knowing that Dayzad Law has always evaluated immigration cases thoroughly and conservatively to meet even the heightened vetting standard. We will continue to monitor and address any impacts to new and existing clients.