India, Aug. 6 -- The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a significant policy change that will allow immigration officers to deny benefit applications without first requesting additional evidence if applicants fail to establish eligibility or submit the required documents at the time of filing.

The policy, which took effect immediately on August 5, reverses a Biden-era approach that generally encouraged officers to issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) before rejecting an application.

The agency said the move is aimed at reducing frivolous filings, speeding up case processing and reinforcing the requirement that applicants submit complete applications from the outset.

In a pol...