USA Green Card Immigration Blog

The results of the USCIS Policy Review have been recently publicized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS.) The USCIS Policy Review was a complete review of the agency’s customer service policies, procedures, and guidance.

A survey was issued by USCIS in April 2010 seeking help from any member of the public or its own employees to find out the issue areas that required attention. Around 5,600 responses from stakeholders, including present immigrant and non-immigrant visa holders, employers, and immigration attorneys were received by USCIS. Apart from these 5,600 responses, 2,400 employers from USCIS also responded to this survey. From the survey results, USCIS could identify the top ten issue areas that needed to be addressed first.

The top ten issue areas include Nonimmigrant H-1B Status, Employment Authorization Documents (EAD,) Naturalization in special cases and Citizenship, National Customer Service Center (NCSC,) Employment-based Immigration Status, Form I-601, Refugee and Asylum Adjustment of Status, Employment-Based Adjustment of Status, Family-Based Adjustment of Status, and other Humanitarian Programs.

The USCIS Policy Review was carried out in four stages. The review began with information gathering. USCIS gathered the existing policy documents from the USCIS offices around the country. Once all the policy documents, including guidance memo, training manuals, and operational guidance were gathered, USCIS went on categorizing them into appropriate issue areas.

With the issue areas categorized, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a survey to the public and the USCIS employees to help prioritize the issue areas. The survey was then examined and the top ten issue areas were recognized.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is taking the help of subject matter experts from around USCIS offices to begin the review in the top ten issue areas. USCIS will maintain its rapport with the public to get their feedback and serve them better. The course of action that is required for each issue area will be determined based on USCIS’s goals, requirements, and responses. Once the policies are approved, they will be compiled into a single electronic resource for both the employers and the public.

It has been recently proclaimed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that 10,000 U nonimmigrant status petitions have been approved in the financial year 2010. U visa provides victims of crimes immigration protection. This visa also helps strengthen the efforts of law enforcement to fight against those crimes. The approval of these 10,000 U visas is considered as a milestone for this program. For the first time since 2008 after USCIS started issuing U visas, it has approved a maximum of 10,000 U visas per financial year.

According to Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director, the U nonimmigrant status lets USCIS to offer critical immigration protection to crime victims and also allow law enforcement officials to protect crime victims. He also stated that thousands of immigrants have benefitted from this approval through the joint effort of USCIS, law enforcement forces and service providers.

On the first day of the financial year 2011 i.e. on October 1, 2010, the issuance of U nonimmigrant status will be resumed by USCIS. Until Oct. 1, 2010, the new petitions for U nonimmigrant status will be accepted by USCIS and those petitioners who have been conditionally approved will be put on waiting list. Qualifying family members and conditionally approved petitioners can stay back in the United States and also apply for work authorization.

Under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, the U nonimmigrant status was created to reinforce the powers of law enforcement forces to investigate and prosecute crimes, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, kidnapping, murder, and other related crimes. Those crime victims who had been abused either physically or mentally due to the criminal activity and interested in helping the law enforcement authorities in investigation will benefit from this visa. Around 6,000 U visa petitions were approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in fiscal year 2009.

It has been recently proclaimed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible EI Salvador nationals will be extended by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS.) The current expiration date of Sept. 9, 2010 has been extended to March 9, 2012.

DHS in collaboration with the Department of State assessed the conditions in EI Salvador last year. The review concluded that the conditions that necessitated the 2001 TPS of EI Salvador as a result of subsequent severe earthquakes still continues. This is temporarily preventing Salvador nationals from returning to their country. Thus Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security has arrived at the conclusion that the existing Salvadoran TPS has to be extended for 18 months.

The extension allows individuals who already have a TPS to re-register and extend their status for an additional 18 months. Around 217,000 EI Salvador nationals are eligible for the re-registration. Salvadoran nationals who entered the US after Feb. 13, 2001 cannot benefit from the Temporary Protected Status extension. The re-registration period is between July 9 and Sept. 7, 2010. Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries are obliged to re-register as soon as the re-registration period begins since USCIS requires time to go ahead with background checking and processing.

Eligible TPS beneficiaries will be issued a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by USCIS once they re-register and apply for EADs. Also, the validity of existing EADs will automatically be extended for six months until March 9, 2011.

In order to re-register, eligible TPS beneficiaries are required to file the Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821. Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization has to be filed along with the processing fee by applicants who seek to extend their Employment Authorization Document. Applicants seeking only to re-register for TPS, should still file Form I-765, but need not pay the filing fee.

The last day to file the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) re-registration application by eligible Hondurans and Nicaraguans was July 6, 2010. For those who have not filed for TPS re-registration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has extended this period and reminded them to follow the late re-registration guidance.

If the applicant has good reason for filing after the re-registration period of his respective country has been closed, a late TPS re-registration application might be accepted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Along with the re-registration application, the applicant is also required to submit a letter, explaining his reason for filing late.

Unfortunately, the eligible Hondurans and Nicaraguans, who failed to file a TPS re-registration application on or before July 6, 2010 will lose their TPS benefits, including employment authorization and protection from removal from the United States, if they do not submit the application along with a letter claiming their good cause for filing late.

Tips for filing re-registration application:

• The applicants must file an application for Temporary Protected Status (Form I-821) and an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) with supporting documentation.

• The applicants must file the Form I-765, even when an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is not requested.

• Correct versions of the forms (Form I-821 dated Oct. 17, 2007 or later, and Form I-765 dated May 27, 2008 or later) must be submitted. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has every right to reject applications if the incorrect version of the form is submitted.

• The forms must be filled out completely and all appropriate boxes must be marked. In Part 1, of Form I-821, applicants are required to mark the box for re-registration or renewal of temporary benefits.

• The appropriate fee(s) must be submitted with the applications. Check or money order must be made payable to the Department of Homeland Security.

TPS re-registrants are requested to know that delay in filing leads to delay in processing and ultimately lead to gaps in employment authorization. Further details on TPS re-registration application for eligible Hondurans and Nicaraguans can be found at uscis.gov

H-1B visa is a temporary non-immigrant visa. This permits foreign workers in “specialty occupations” to get entry into the U.S and work in various fields including architecture, engineering, modeling, medicine, and health.

To obtain the temporary non-immigrant visa, an applicant must have a US bachelor’s degree or a 4-year’s bachelor’s degree obtained from an accredited or recognized foreign university or college to be considered as an equivalent in their specialty, or a license exercising no restriction for the fields like teaching or pharmacy in the US In case, the applicant has less than 4 years of university study, he can merge the years of his degree/diploma with the years of study completed on a post-baccalaureate diploma, master’s degree, or other studies.

The applicants also have an option to combine progressive work experience in the field with university study – or use work experience only. Three years of progressive work experience in the field is equivalent to one year of US university study for H-1B purposes. Additionally, the applicant’s petition has to be moved by his/her US employer and he/she cannot be self-employed.

A foreign national with a degree from a foreign university who intends to come to the US on H-1B visa needs to get a credential evaluation done. Credential evaluation is the process of converting the records of education completed in one country into its US equivalency. Thus, this needs to be done if the applicant possesses a Bachelor’s degree from a foreign nation. This credential evaluation can be obtained through an assessment from an officer who has the right to grant college-level credit for training, or from college-level equivalency examination results, or from a nationally accredited professional association. The credential evaluation can also be done by a trusted credentials assessment service provider.

The USCIS just needs you to submit a report that includes an equivalency statement of the diplomas/degrees along with brief information on the institution where the studies were completed if you are seeking a credential evaluation.

It has been recently announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that an additional 180 days will be given to eligible Haitian nationals to apply for their Temporary Protected Status (TPS.) This additional six months is viewed as a response to the earthquake that struck Haiti in the beginning of this year. The new registration closes on January 18, 2011.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas said that USCIS has arrived at the conclusion that Haitian nationals need some more time to apply for TPS after hearing from the Haitian community leaders and advocates. By extending the registration period, USCIS lets more eligible Haitian nationals to safely stay back in the United States until the catastrophe settles in Haiti.

Haitian nationals who secure a Temporary Protected Status can remain in the United States and can also get authorized to work there during the course of the program. USCIS has taken up many initiatives to let the Haitians know about the benefits and information about the registration process from the time the program was initiated. USCIS is still in the process of encouraging eligible Haitian nationals to file for TPS before the deadline. Applicants who are unable to pay the application fee can request for fee waivers.

During interaction with the public, USCIS could gather several reasons for eligible individual’s failure to apply for their Temporary Protected Status. Few individuals faced difficulty in gathering documents to be submitted for the TPS registration due to the earthquake. Few others could not afford to pay the application fees.

Commencing January 21, 2010, TPS for Haitian nationals was allotted for an 18-month period by Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security Secretary. Haitian nationals who stayed in the United States since January 12, 2010 are only eligible for this designation. Those Haitians who stepped into the United States after Jan. 12, 2010 cannot benefit from this program.

FOXNews.com – Fox News Poll: 72 Percent Say Government Not Enforcing Immigration Laws.

The controversial Arizona Immigration Law is responsible for driving out an exodus of undocumented families, in fear of criminal punishment. Many of the illegal immigrants are moving to other parts of the United States, while a few others are even returning back to Mexico.

The alleged Senate Bill 1070 has started fulfilling its goal of “attrition through enforcement” though it has not come into force yet. Many policy makers see the Arizona Immigration Law merely as a measure of distributing Arizona’s problems to other states. One solution to this problem would be to create a broader immigration reform that tackles the border breakdown issue as well.

While expressing his concerns over the immigration-law exodus, the U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., senior member of the state’s U.S. House delegation, stated that the President of the United States should immediately step into action, else there would be similar immigration reforms from every state of the United States. He expressed this on quoting the comments by Sen. Russell Pearce who stated that when other states begin passing their own immigration reforms, the President would be under immense pressure.
According to the Arizona Immigration Law, it is a criminal offense to be an undocumented immigrant in the country. It also entitles law officials to question whoever they suspect as illegal residents. This section of the law has raised alarms among many families, eventually leading them to flee the state. There are also a few others who wait for favorable amendments to be made in the law.

Many feel that this immigration reform by Arizona is an extreme measure taken up by the Arizona State Government.

Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, fears that the Arizona Immigration Law might become the American style ethnic cleansing that will terrorize all undocumented family members and drive them out of the state.

The Obama administration officials had recently stated their intent of filing a suit against the Arizona immigration law as a measure to mitigate the negative effects of the law. Though the officials had proclaimed this decision long back, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State had affirmed it on an interview with a TV station in Ecuador.

According to Clinton, President Obama has expressed his disapproval of the Arizona law because he feels that the federal government is the right authority to determine an immigration policy. She had also said that a lawsuit would be filed by the Justice Department against the law. She further added that, President Obama’s main motive is to bring a comprehensive immigration reform.

Jan Brewer, Arizona governor who passed the illegal immigrant law, retaliated against Clinton’s announcement and said that she was ready to put up a fight.

In accordance with Clinton’s announcement, the Justice Department recently filed suit against the Arizona immigration law, which is scheduled to be effective from the end of July. The suit requests the U.S. District Court in Arizona to bar the state from putting the law into effect. The state of Arizona and Gov. Jan Brewer were named as defendants in the suit. The reason stated in the suit filed was that Arizona immigration law disrupted the authority that the federal government has on immigration enforcement.

The law suit claims that the Arizona immigration law aims at removing illegal immigrants, but is unmindful of the other immigration objectives. The suit also puts forth that according to the United States Constitution, Arizona cannot use its own state-specific immigration policy to replace the federal government’s immigration regime. And that this policy would only interfere with the federal governments responsibilities.

Attorney General Eric Holder also opined that this illegal immigrant law will affect the country’s safety as it would divert federal resources from other dangerous sources, such as terrorism suspects and individual with criminal records.

A national art project for children is being hosted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) throughout the United States. Children are invited to create images that would portray the theme, “We Are America.” The pictures drawn by children are expected to answer the question, “People have come from all over the world to become Americans. Why does that make us great?”

The National Children’s Art Project will be hosted by USCIS in collaboration with public libraries and other community-based organizations that work for America’s immigrant communities in this summer. Submissions for the art project will be displayed in USCIS offices throughout the country. In the 2010 commemoration of the National Day of Service and Remembrance (September 11,2010) the children participants will be recognized.

Children who are aged between 5 and 12 years as of September 11, 2010 can get the submission form for the National Children’s Art Project from the nearest USCIS office. Submission forms can also be downloaded from USCIS.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requires children to submit their artwork on an 8.5 x 11 or 11 x 17 inch paper. Children can use any medium, including crayons, paint, color pencils, or collage to create their artwork. Accompanying the drawing should be a short paragraph of about 2-3 sentences describing the theme, “We Are America” and answering the question posed. USCIS will accept the entries from June 12, 2010 to August 16, 2010.