CIS Ombudsman - Send Your Recommendations on systemic process changes

[santa123]

CIS Ombudsman - Send Your Recommendations

Looks like another good opportunity to express our hardships and seek CHANGE. Pls write to CIS.

http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/editorial_0501.shtm


Your recommendations are accepted and encouraged. The Ombudsman is dedicated to identifying systemic problems in the immigration benefits process and preparing recommendations for submission to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for process changes. The Ombudsman believes that process change recommendations from individuals like you represent one of the best sources for identifying systemic problems in the immigration benefits process.

Ideally, your recommendations for process changes should not only identify the problem you are experiencing, but should also contain a proposed solution that will not only benefit your individual case, but others who may be experiencing the same problem as well.

The CIS Ombudsman is dedicated to open and accessible communication with both individuals and employers and not only welcomes, but encourages your comments.

Send your comments, examples, and suggestions to the Ombudsman at cisombudsman@dhs.gov

Mailing Address:

Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman
ATTN: Recommendations
United States Department of Homeland Security
Mail Stop 1225
Washington, D.C. 20528-1225

[laborchic]

This sounds interesting. Shouldn't we follow the same procedure we did for sending messages on change.gov ?

Do we have any action item on this from IV Core?

[bsbawa10]

Since Ombudsman invited these. Here is a very big list of them.

1. Transparency: USCIS never releases how many eb1 or eb2 cases are pending so things are so unpredictable, no body can expect the time frame at all.

2. Respect priority dates: There is no logic what so ever in giving green cards to people having priority dates 2006 when the cases with priority dates 2003, 2004 are all pending. Why is priority date even there then ?

3. Email support and some real customer service: Currently customer service is just getting their pay stubs. They just speak whatever is on the website and have no power at all. Why does this type of customer support even have to be their from the tax payers money.

4. Update the cases on the website: Often the cases on the USCIS are not updated and people can bang their heads trying to guess what is happening and customer service is as has been described. For eg. my case shows that my I485 case is in California service center whereas I know that it is in Texas Service Center. I have run from piller to post to get it changed including calling customer service many many times, writing letters to Texas Service center, calling Californa service center and Texas Service Center but to no use at all. Atlast I gave up.

5. Automatic Advance Parole and EAD: Why does USCIS try to increase load for itself ? Is it for making more money or is it to claim that they have a lot of load and then say that they are understaffed? Why not the very fact that I485 is pending should give permission for work as well as permission to reenter the country ?

Thanks.

[kumarc123]

Hi
Can someone please tell me how to post a new thread, lately I saw a post reflecting on us citizenship for international students who will serve in army intelligence, if someone could please post that thread here, I tried looking for it.


Please help me out here,


Thank you

[ita]

Suggestions.

1 Since the main reason behind the retrogression is the lack of Visa numbers I feel it would be a great idea to process the 485 applications , make a decision on the case and let the applicant know about the decision though the actual card can be mailed when the Visa Numbers become available . This would reduce the anxiety on behalf of the applicants and would also give USCIS ample time to process all the applications.

2. Yearly extension of EAD/AP is getting so expensive especially when one doesn't know how many years we have to keep doing the extensions.
It's a known fact that except for the July 07 bulletin EB3 India PD has hardly touched year 2002 since Dec 2004.

Some of the EB3 I folks with a 2005 PD, that I know have been issued one year extension on their EAD though they applied for the extensions in mid July(2008).

Example of EAD/AP anxiety:

AP document says that it should be used for emergency travel. This rule on AP
was formed at a time when 485 processing would take not more than 6 months.
In the present scenario with 485 processing taking years I think a person using EAD would end up using AP many times . Officers at the POE sometimes remind us the rule that AP should be used only in emergency and some of them give the person hard time if they believe the travel was not for emergency purpose.
I guess we are supposed to have a proof of emergency travel.

Though AC21 lets one change jobs 180 days after filing the 485 application with the I40 approved for more than 180 days when reentering the country some of the officer(s) sometimes ask the person if they are still with the same company that filed their GC.I don't know yet what they would do/say if one had changed their jobs because the people who were asked this question did not change their employer at that time. But the fact that they ask us this question makes us apprehensive about changing jobs.
With so many rules where most of them were formed long back it's making applicant's life increasingly tough as the applicants themselves don't want to do anything that would be construed/fall on the wrong side of the rules.We are forced to watch our steps multiple times even in the case of simple things like job changes,travelout of country etc.

When I repeatedly read about how USICS is inundated with 485 applications due to July 2007 bulletin I keep wondering why USCIS would want to increase it's work load every year with all these EAD/AP renewal applications.

Suggestion
Once upon a time when the 485 processing took like 6 months, EAD/AP had different meaning. In the present scenario when not many of us know how many more yeras it's going to be before (especially EB3 I folks) we get our GreenCard I would think it would be better to use the pending 485 application to change jobs and reenter the country.
This would save money/time for the applicant and lot of time for USICS.

Thank you.

[bsbawa10]

Originally Posted by ita

Suggestions.

1 Since the main reason behind the retrogression is the lack of Visa numbers I feel it would be a great idea to process the 485 applications , make a decision on the case and let the applicant know about the decision though the actual card can be mailed when the Visa Numbers become available . This would reduce the anxiety on behalf of the applicants and would also give USCIS ample time to process all the applications.

2. Yearly extension of EAD/AP is getting so expensive especially when one doesn't know how many years we have to keep doing the extensions.
It's a known fact that except for the July 07 bulletin EB3 India PD has hardly touched year 2002 since Dec 2004.

Some of the EB3 I folks with a 2005 PD, that I know have been issued one year extension on their EAD though they applied for the extensions in mid July(2008).

Example of EAD/AP anxiety:

AP document says that it should be used for emergency travel. This rule on AP
was formed at a time when 485 processing would take not more than 6 months.
In the present scenario with 485 processing taking years I think a person using EAD would end up using AP many times . Officers at the POE sometimes remind us the rule that AP should be used only in emergency and some of them give the person hard time if they believe the travel was not for emergency purpose.
I guess we are supposed to have a proof of emergency travel.

Though AC21 lets one change jobs 180 days after filing the 485 application with the I40 approved for more than 180 days when reentering the country some of the officer(s) sometimes ask the person if they are still with the same company that filed their GC.I don't know yet what they would do/say if one had changed their jobs because the people who were asked this question did not change their employer at that time. But the fact that they ask us this question makes us apprehensive about changing jobs.
With so many rules where most of them were formed long back it's making applicant's life increasingly tough as the applicants themselves don't want to do anything that would be construed/fall on the wrong side of the rules.We are forced to watch our steps multiple times even in the case of simple things like job changes,travelout of country etc.

When I repeatedly read about how USICS is inundated with 485 applications due to July 2007 bulletin I keep wondering why USCIS would want to increase it's work load every year with all these EAD/AP renewal applications.

Suggestion
Once upon a time when the 485 processing took like 6 months, EAD/AP had different meaning. In the present scenario when not many of us know how many more yeras it's going to be before (especially EB3 I folks) we get our GreenCard I would think it would be better to use the pending 485 application to change jobs and reenter the country.
This would save money/time for the applicant and lot of time for USICS.

Thank you.

Very nice suggestions. More participants needed please.

[santa123]

/\/\/\