Part J - Fraud and Willful Misrepresentation

This technical update to Volume 8, Part J, Chapter 3 adds a citation to the 2021 Board of Immigration Appeal’s Decision, Matter of O-R-E-, which further explains when misrepresentations of identity are material, and makes conforming edits to the Policy Manual main text.

This technical update to Volume 8 removes all references to the U.S. Department of State’s 90-day rule.

This technical update replaces all instances of the term “alien” with “noncitizen” or other appropriate terms throughout the Policy Manual where possible, as used to refer to a person who meets the definition provided in INA 101(a)(3) [“any person not a citizen or national of the United States”].

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating and incorporating relevant Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) content into the USCIS Policy Manual. As that process is ongoing, USCIS has moved any remaining AFM content to its corresponding USCIS Policy Manual Part, in PDF format, until relevant AFM content has been properly incorporated into the USCIS Policy Manual. To the extent that a provision in the USCIS Policy Manual conflicts with remaining AFM content or Policy Memoranda, the updated information in the USCIS Policy Manual prevails. To find remaining AFM content, see the crosswalk between the AFM and the Policy Manual.

This technical update replaces all instances of the term “foreign national” with “alien” throughout the Policy Manual as used to refer to a person who meets the definition provided in INA 101(a)(3) [“any person not a citizen or national of the United States”].

This technical update incorporates clarifications regarding the Department of State (DOS)'s "90-day rule." While this "rule" does not apply to USCIS because it is DOS policy, USCIS is clarifying that it may also find that an applicant made a willful misrepresentation due to a status violation or conduct in the United States that is inconsistent with the applicant's prior representations, especially where the violation or conduct occurred shortly after the consular interview or admission to the United States.

This technical update incorporates changes that the Department of State (DOS) made to its Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) regarding its interpretation of the term “misrepresentation.”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing guidance on the fraud and willful misrepresentation grounds of inadmissibility under INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i) and the corresponding waiver under INA 212(i).