This archive report was first published on 20 August 2019.
On August 20, 2019, the Trump administration issued a new policy guideline that tightens the issuance of work permits to immigrants who have been paroled into the United States.
According to the new policy guideline, contained in Volume 10 of the Policy Manual, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) states that it has discretion to grant employment authorization to foreign nationals, but applicants are not entitled to employment authorization.
USCIS will grant discretionary employment authorization on a case-by-case basis, taking into account factors such as the immigrant's criminal record, a final removal order, or misrepresentation to an immigration officer.
Work permits are normally issued to foreign nationals who are paroled into the US for various reasons, including adjusting status from a non-immigrant visa holder to an immigration visa holder or from an expired status to a green card holder.
Immigration advocates say the move is one of the Trump administration's efforts to limit the number of work permits issued, with one lawyer stating,
