On October 2, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy guidance to address inadmissibility based on membership in or affiliation with the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party.
A new section in the USCIS Policy Manual provides guidance on how to adjudicate inadmissibility due to membership in the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party in the context of adjustment-of-status applications. In general, unless otherwise exempt, any intending immigrant who is a member or affiliate of the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party (or subdivision or affiliate), domestic or foreign, is inadmissible to the United States.
According to practitioners, although the new guidance adheres to existing U.S. immigration law, it appears to direct immigration officers to enforce the law more strictly and provides step-by-step instructions for immigration officers making such inadmissibility determinations.
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