Green card interviews at USCIS are being used as de facto enforcement points for applicants with past immigration record issues or criminal histories.
This follows the disclosure of internal guidance instructing USCIS officers to notify ICE of applicant information just before interviews conclude. As a result, anxiety has grown among green card applicants with prior status problems, with fears spreading that “going to the interview leads to arrest.”
Online outlet Axios reported on December 23rd that it obtained internal USCIS documents showing officers were instructed to pass applicant information to ICE at the end of interviews. According to the documents, officers screen cases in advance to identify individuals eligible for arrest. Immigration attorneys told the outlet that once officers leave the room after interviews, ICE agents enter to detain applicants.
Such enforcement practices had for years been effectively considered off-limits.
In the past, court appearances and USCIS visits were widely viewed as relatively safe spaces and as pathways for applicants with status issues to pursue legalization. Under a 1986 immigration law, foreign nationals who entered the US lawfully may apply for a green card through marriage to a US citizen even if their visa has expired. However, since the Donald Trump administration, ICE has expanded enforcement under the position that visa overstays constitute grounds for deportation.
Concerns have intensified within the Korean American community following recent arrests carried out through this approach.
Tae-ha Hwang, 38, who married in February, was detained by ICE during a marriage-based green card interview at the LA Downtown USCIS Office while attending with his US citizen wife. His wife, Selena Diaz, said she waited in the lobby without knowing her husband had been arrested and that USCIS staff provided no explanation.
Attorneys report that some applicants are detained even after receiving approval decisions.
An immigration attorney in San Diego said ICE agents entered immediately after an officer stated that “there was no problem with the case.” In Cleveland, a green card applicant who had lived in the US for 25 years was arrested immediately after approval of a marriage-based interview and remains in an ICE detention facility.
Dozens of similar cases have been reported across regional USCIS offices. Most involved applicants with record issues such as visa overstays or failure to update addresses, but who had entered the US lawfully and were pursuing green cards through marriage.
Experts warn that interviews once considered the final step toward obtaining permanent residency are effectively becoming enforcement checkpoints.
They also caution that changes in practice without public policy announcements may discourage applicants from attending interviews and could narrow legal pathways for resolving immigration status.
The USCIS Employees Union stated that “law enforcement partners must exercise careful discretion regarding when, where, how, and why arrests are made.” Immigration authorities, however, maintain that visa overstays remain valid grounds for deportation.
Immigration attorneys advise applicants to review their immigration history, confirm address updates, and check for any prior removal orders before attending interviews.
BY HANKIL KANG [kang.hankil@koreadaily.com]
