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DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

25 06, 2004

New CIS Initiatives to Reduce Backlogs; Just PR, or the Real Thing?

By |2004-06-25T14:00:36-05:00June 25th, 2004|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

New CIS Initiatives to Reduce Backlogs; Just PR, or the Real Thing? June 25, 2004 A recent CIS (formerly INS) press release lays out a “Backlog Elimination Strategy” designed to cut down the waiting time on all applications, including the 2+ years processing times now affecting most applications for permanent residence. The press release is sprinkled with all kinds of slick, corporate feel-good language in pronouncing its 3 primary objectives: “Achieving a high level of performance by establishing clear, concrete milestones and actively monitoring progress towards these milestones; Transforming business practices by implementing significant information technology improvements and identifying processing improvements […]

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10 06, 2004

Immigration Processing Delays and Possible Solutions

By |2004-06-10T14:00:36-05:00June 10th, 2004|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Immigration Processing Delays and Possible Solutions June 10, 2004 Whether you are a U.S. citizen filing immigration paperwork on behalf of an overseas spouse or parent, or you are an applicant for permanent residence awaiting processing in the U.S., no doubt, you have become familiar with the extensive processing delays plaguing many aspects of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (“CIS”, formerly INS) operations. For individuals residing in the Chicago area or Midwestern U.S., the CIS’ Nebraska Service Center may be the source of the problem. Or for some other applicants nationwide, the newly created National Benefits Center in Missouri may […]

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30 04, 2004

US CIS Announces Filing Fee “Adjustment” & Is U.S. Immigration Harmful to the Environment

By |2004-04-30T14:00:36-05:00April 30th, 2004|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards|

US CIS Announces Filing Fee “Adjustment” & Is U.S. Immigration Harmful to the Environment April 30, 2004 US CIS Announces Filing Fee “Adjustment” According to a US CIS (formerly INS) press release issued earlier this month, new, “adjusted” immigration filing fees will go into effect as of Friday, April 30, 2004. What does this mean for you? The filing fee you pay for each document submitted to the USCIS will increase by an average of $55.00. The fee for Biometrics (fingerprinting and photos) will also increase by $20 for certain applications. (To view a complete list of new filing fees, visit […]

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26 09, 2003

A Real Life Tragedy

By |2003-09-26T14:00:36-05:00September 26th, 2003|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

A Real Life Tragedy September 26, 2003 Believe it or not, some of my most satisfying moments as an immigration attorney are when a client walks out of my office after I inform them that viable options to pursue their U.S. immigration goals do not now exist. A typical inquiry of this nature involves an undocumented alien who has either overstayed (or will overstay) their visa or has entered the U.S. with no visa at all, and their desperate wish is to remain in the U.S., obtain work authorization, a drivers license, and eventually a green card. Oh yeah, the client […]

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12 09, 2003

Immigration Service’s Gradual Assignment of Duties to Outside Contractor Draws Criticism

By |2003-09-12T14:00:36-05:00September 12th, 2003|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

Immigration Service’s Gradual Assignment of Duties to Outside Contractor Draws Criticism September 12, 2003 Over the past couple years, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, now known as the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, or CIS, began to assign a number of important functions to outside contractors, such as clerical staff to handle intake and receipt processing at the 4 Regional Service Centers. (For many types of immigration filings for Chicago area residents, the Nebraska Service Center has jurisdiction) Most recently, non CIS employees have been hired to staff “customer service” telephone lines to address applicant inquiries for certain types of […]

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29 08, 2003

The New Visa Lottery (DV-2005)

By |2003-08-29T14:00:36-05:00August 29th, 2003|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Visa Lottery and Diversity Visas to the U.S.|

The New Visa Lottery (DV-2005) August 29, 2003 Like in years past, those from Canada, China (mainland born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia (new to the list), South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and Vietnam do NOT get to participate in this year’s visa lottery where millions from all over world submit entries to have a chance at one of 50,000 diversity immigrant visas and obtain “green card” status in the U.S. That is because these are considered to be “high admission” nations, and the basis of Congress establishing the visa lottery […]

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8 08, 2003

I Just Got Married – Can I Apply for My Green Card and Undergo All Processing in the U.S.?

By |2003-08-08T14:00:36-05:00August 8th, 2003|Categories: Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

I Just Got Married – Can I Apply for My Green Card and Undergo All Processing in the U.S.? August 8, 2003 This is definitely one of the more common questions presented to me as an immigration lawyer. Sometimes the client in question got married to a lawful permanent resident (“green card” holder) and sometimes to a U.S. citizen. Sometimes the client is in status, other times they have overstayed their visa. Other times, they came with someone else’s visa, or with no visa at all. The following are my most common responses to the scenarios presented above (for this discussion, […]

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20 06, 2003

Extending Your Visitor Visa Status in the U.S.

By |2003-06-20T14:00:36-05:00June 20th, 2003|Categories: Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S.|

Extending Your Visitor Visa Status in the U.S. June 20, 2003 One of the most common requests the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services or CIS (formerly INS) receives is that of the B-1/B-2 visitor visa holder seeking to extend his/her stay in the U.S. The procedure is not a complicated one in theory, however in the post September 11 environment we live in, much closer scrutiny is being applied to such filings by CIS examiners. The scenario starts with the visitor visa holder entering the U.S. and being granted a period of stay by an immigration inspector at a port […]

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6 06, 2003

The Office of Visa Compliance: A New Division of the Department of Homeland Security

By |2003-06-06T14:00:36-05:00June 6th, 2003|Categories: Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

The Office of Visa Compliance: A New Division of the Department of Homeland Security June 6, 2003 With the elimination of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), a slew of new government agencies were created to take its place and assume its functions. The Office of Visa Compliance is set to be one of those new agencies, except that the functions it will be assuming were pretty much ignored by the agency previously charged with such responsibilities. Under the umbrella agency of the Department of Homeland Security, 3 separate agencies were created to replace the INS: 1) the Bureau of Citizenship […]

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2 05, 2003

DHS to Unveil New “VISIT System” for Travelers to the U.S.

By |2003-05-02T14:00:36-05:00May 2nd, 2003|Categories: Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law|

DHS to Unveil New “VISIT System” for Travelers to the U.S. May 2, 2003 By years end, look for the Department of Homeland Security to implement a new entry/exit system that will allow for better screening and tracking of foreign nationals entering the U.S. on nonimmigrant visas, such as student, visitor and work visas. The U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indication Technology system, VISIT – for short, is designed to allow those with legitimate visas and purposes to enter the U.S. more efficiently and with more security, and detect and deny entry for those trying to enter the U.S. with fraudulent […]

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