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Abdu Rahaman

Posted 1 day ago

User
Hello, I need precise clarification about my I-730 Follow-to-Join Refugee case. My father is a refugee already resettled in the United States. He filed Form I-730 for me. USCIS transferred the case to the International Operations (RIO) unit, and I received and responded to an RFE on February 21, 2026. However, USCIS also sent an email referencing Executive Order 14163, stating that decisions on Form I-730 are currently suspended. My questions are: 1. Is USCIS currently reviewing and working on I-730 cases internally, even if final approval is paused? 2. After submitting an RFE response, will USCIS still complete background checks and eligibility review during the suspension? 3. Or is the entire case completely frozen with no review at all until the Executive Order is lifted? 4. When the suspension ends, will cases that already responded to RFE be decided faster, or will they restart from zero? 5. Will interviews for I-730 beneficiaries still be scheduled during the suspension, or are interviews also paused? 6. Based on current policy, is there any estimated timeline for when I-730 processing and interviews may resume? Please provide a clear answer based on current USCIS policy, not general information. Thank you.
1 Response
N

Natalie Brookstone

Answered about 16 hours ago

User

USCIS can still review your I‑730 internally during the suspension because a federal hold allows officers to keep processing the file up to the point of making a final decision, which means your RFE response, background checks, and eligibility review can all continue even though they cannot approve or deny the case until the Executive Order is lifted, while the Department of State has fully paused follow‑to‑join refugee processing under the order so interviews will not be scheduled right now, and once the suspension ends cases that already completed RFEs and vetting generally move faster since they do not restart, but there is currently no official timeline from USCIS or the Department of State for when decisions or interviews will resume.

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