The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has introduced a significant policy revision set to take effect on July 3, 2025, altering the criteria for evaluating spousal applications involving refugees and asylees.
Under the new directive, only civil marriages that are legally registered will be acknowledged for immigration-related benefits.
This means that religious, traditional, or customary unions will no longer be accepted unless they have also been officially recorded under civil law.
“We are updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 4, on valid marriages between a principal asylee or principal refugee and their claimed spouse,” the agency stated.
“All marriages… must be legally valid under the law of the jurisdiction where the marriage was celebrated.”
The revised rule applies not only to new applications submitted on or after July 3, 2025, but also to any pending cases awaiting adjudication.
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The policy change is expected to have significant implications for applicants from nations such as Nigeria, Uganda, India, Afghanistan, and Somalia, where non-civil marriages are frequently practiced.
Three key categories of individuals are expected to feel the greatest impact: refugees and asylees seeking to reunite with spouses in the U.S.; spouses requesting immigration benefits based on a marital relationship with a refugee or asylee; and applicants from regions where formal civil registration of marriages is not commonplace.
According to USCIS, the update is designed to curb fraudulent claims and ensure that marriages presented for immigration purposes meet legal standards.
The agency further explained that this update brings its policy in line with Executive Orders 14148 and 14163, both of which were enacted under the Trump administration as part of broader immigration reforms.
Couples are now strongly encouraged to obtain official civil marriage certificates, even if they have already celebrated their union through religious or cultural ceremonies.
To strengthen their applications, USCIS advises submitting official marriage certificates along with corroborating documents such as evidence of shared residence, joint financial accounts, or children born of the union.
