USCIS Policy Memo: Discretionary Options for Designated Spouses, Parents, and Sons and Daughters of Certain Military Personnel, Veterans, and Enlistees (Nov. 23, 2016)

USCIS, Nov. 23, 2016 - "This policy memorandum (PM) clarifies and supplements guidance issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in 2013 (“the 2013 PM”)1 with respect to designated family members of certain military personnel and veterans. Specifically, this PM provides additional guidance on discretionary options for: (a) certain alien family members of individuals serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve; (b) certain alien family members of those who previously served on active duty or in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve (whether living or deceased) and were not dishonorably discharged; and (c) enlistees in the Department of Defense (DoD) Delayed Entry Program (DEP). This PM amends Chapter 21.1(c) of the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) to:

• Clarify that individuals who previously served in the military include those who are now deceased but do not include those who were dishonorably discharged;

• Change all references to “children” to “sons and daughters”;

• Provide guidance on deferred action for certain nonimmigrant and other alien recruits (including enlistees in the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program) whose authorized periods of stay expire during the enlistment process, including the time they are in the DEP;

• Provide guidance on deferred action for certain MAVNI and other DEP enlistees’ family members who are present in the United States without authorized periods of stay; and

• Provide guidance on deferred action for certain military family members who would be eligible for parole under the guidelines in the 2013 PM but for the fact that they have already been admitted."