USCIS AOS Policy Change 2026: Federal Court Strikes Down EB-1A Final Merits Requirement

On June 10, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) withdrew its appeal in Mukherji v. Miller, a landmark case originating in a Nebraska federal district court. The withdrawal signals a significant legal defeat for the agency regarding its adjudication practices for EB-1A extraordinary ability petitions. The district court had previously ruled that USCIS's practice of conducting a 'final merits determination' — a two-step framework where the agency evaluates whether an applicant truly qualifies after meeting initial evidentiary criteria — was improper. The judge found the approach contrary to the governing statute and regulations. Critically, the court also found that USCIS had adopted this adjudication framework as an informal rule without following the required Administrative Procedure Act (APA) notice-and-comment process. Federal agencies must publish proposed rules and allow public input before implementation; bypassing this requirement renders such rules legally invalid. While this case directly concerns EB-1A (extraordinary ability) petitions, the underlying principle — that USCIS cannot impose unlawful adjudication standards without proper rulemaking — has broader implications for all employment-based immigration categories, including EB-3. Applicants who received denials based on this 'final merits' framework may have grounds to revisit their cases. Immigration practitioners are advising affected petitioners to consult with counsel about potential motions to reopen or reconsider prior denials that may have relied on the now-withdrawn adjudication standard.