On August 5, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated Volume 1 of its Policy Manual and issued a newsroom alert restoring officers’ discretion to deny a benefit request without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). The update applies immediately to requests pending or filed on or after August 5, 2026.
With limited exceptions, an RFE or NOID is not required by regulation, as indicated in the USCIS Policy Manual at Part E, Chapter 6. If required initial evidence is missing, or the filing does not establish eligibility, USCIS “in its discretion may either deny the benefit request for lack of initial evidence or for ineligibility, or request that the missing initial evidence be submitted.” That tracks the regulations, which state that requestors must still establish eligibility at the time of filing and remain eligible through adjudication. 8 CFR 103.2(b)(1).
USCIS says the change rolls back Biden-era practice that generally steered officers to request evidence before denial, including incomplete “placeholder” filings used to obtain interim benefits such as employment authorization. See the August 5, 2026 newsroom alert.
While this policy update may lead to an uptick in cases where RFEs or NOIDs are not issued prior to a denial, RFEs have not disappeared. Officers still may issue them when the facts warrant. The maximum RFE response period remains 12 weeks (84 days), or 30 days for Form I-539 and Form I-601A, plus three days if served by mail. Per the regulations, a partial response is treated as a request for a decision on the existing record. 8 CFR 103.2(b)(11). Additionally, NOIDs remain mandatory before certain denials, including specified Hague adoption filings and some physician national-interest-waiver adjustment cases. Although changes are anticipated, the full extent of how this discretionary policy will be applied is yet to be determined. If you are considering filing a petition with USCIS and would like further guidance on this issue, please contact our office.
