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DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

17 04, 2003

Responding to Those Thick National Visa Center Packets

By |2003-04-17T14:00:36-05:00April 17th, 2003|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Family-Based Immigration Law, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, United States Embassies Abroad|

Responding to Those Thick National Visa Center Packets When the Alien Relative is in the U.S. April 17, 2003 The following sequence of events may sound familiar. First, the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident files an I-130, Alien Relative Petition on behalf of a family member living outside the U.S., or maybe even living in the U.S. – with or without status. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (now the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services or CIS) eventually issues a notice confirming that the petition has been approved and shortly thereafter the National Visa Center forwards a correspondence informing the […]

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28 03, 2003

Document Shredding: One Way to Reduce Paperwork Backlog at INS

By |2003-03-28T14:00:36-06:00March 28th, 2003|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law|

Document Shredding: One Way to Reduce Paperwork Backlog at INS March 28, 2003 If you or anyone you know may have submitted some sort of immigration related filing with the Laguna Niguel, California office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (now Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services) in the past year or two, the documents filed may have ended up in the paper shredder, and not by mistake. According to a federal indictment handed down in recent weeks, at least two officials working at the facility were responsible for ordering the shredding of up to 90,000 documents, including applications and supporting […]

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28 02, 2003

INS Adjudications Delays, INS Fees and Some Scary Legislative Proposals

By |2003-02-28T14:00:36-06:00February 28th, 2003|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

INS Adjudications Delays, INS Fees and Some Scary Legislative Proposals February 28, 2003 INS Adjudication Delays As previously covered in this column, INS offices around the U.S. have implemented new security check protocols in the processing of various applications for immigration benefits, particularly lawful permanent residence and U.S. citizenship. Specifically, before an applicant is granted their immigration benefit, the INS must receive the green light from the FBI after their name is processed through the FBI’s own security filter. This protocol is in addition to the fingerprint check wherein the applicant’s prints are analyzed against a nationwide database of federal, state […]

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10 01, 2003

Special Registration

By |2003-01-10T14:00:36-06:00January 10th, 2003|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Special Registration January 10, 2003 In the past couple months, the U.S. Immigration Naturalization Service, at the direction of the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General John Ashcroft, has implemented a program requiring MALE nationals/citizens of certain countries who are present in the U.S. to appear before an official at their local INS office and report their exact whereabouts and activities in the U.S. The program does not affect nationals and citizens of the specified countries who are also U.S. lawful permanent residents or U.S. citizens. However, practically all other types of non-immigrants present in the U.S from these designated […]

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13 12, 2002

Decisions Halted on Applications for U.S. Permanent Residence and Citizenship

By |2002-12-13T14:00:36-06:00December 13th, 2002|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Decisions Halted on Applications for U.S. Permanent Residence and Citizenship December 13, 2002 A new security initiative put in place by the INS in the past 2 weeks has led to a halt in the issuance of final decisions on applications for adjustment of status (permanent residence) and U.S. citizenship. This initiative impacts only applications pending in the U.S., such as at local INS District Offices like Chicago’s, and does not have a direct effect on overseas consular processing of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. Q: Why has this initiative been put in place? A: Security. The initiative stems from a November […]

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21 11, 2002

New Homeland Security Measure to Lead to Reorganization of Immigration Agency

By |2002-11-21T14:00:36-06:00November 21st, 2002|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

New Homeland Security Measure to Lead to Reorganization of Immigration Agency November 21, 2002 The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service – also known as “the INS”, the federal executive agency charged with the implementation and enforcement of our country’s immigration laws, will cease to exist under a new plan that is about to be signed into law by President Bush. In the past week or so, both houses of Congress have given the go-ahead to a measure authorizing the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, an agency that will serve as the umbrella for separate immigration enforcement and immigration benefits […]

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11 09, 2002

INS Processing Times in Chicago and Lincoln, Nebraska

By |2002-09-11T14:00:36-05:00September 11th, 2002|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law|

INS Processing Times in Chicago and Lincoln, Nebraska September 11, 2002 UPDATE For the most recent processing times, visit CIS ( INS ) Processing Times. Nebraska Service Center, Lincoln, Nebraska Form I-129 – Petition for a Non-Immigrant Worker (which includes professionals/specialty occupation workers (H-1B visa, etc), intracompany transferees, executives or managers (L visa), treaty traders/investors (E visa), artists/performers (O, P visa), religious workers (R visas): 60 to 90 days. However, with the payment of an additional filing fee of $1,000.00, these petitions will undergo “premium processing” and adjudicated in 7 to 14 days Form I-539 – Application to Extend/Change Non-Immigrant Status […]

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18 07, 2002

INS Chicago Implements New Advance Parole Procedures

By |2002-07-18T14:00:36-05:00July 18th, 2002|Categories: Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

INS Chicago Implements New Advance Parole Procedures July 18, 2002 In the past month INS Chicago announced new procedures for the processing of requests for advance parole travel documents, with the major change being a 30 day processing time, rather than the previous 1 day, walk up service. Firstly, what is an advance parole travel document? The advance parole document, also referred to as a “parole visa” in some communities, is a document that allows individuals residing in the U.S. with pending I-485 applications for adjustment of status (for permanent residence or “green card”) to reenter the U.S. after traveling abroad […]

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6 06, 2002

New Security Protocols to Cause Processing Delays at INS

By |2002-06-06T14:00:36-05:00June 6th, 2002|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

New Security Protocols to Cause Processing Delays at INS June 6, 2002 Whether you are applying to extend your nonimmigrant tourist status or to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, the time U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service will take to process your case will no doubt take longer as a result new security measures now being put into place. The Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS) is a U.S. government database and program originally implemented less than a year ago in order to scrutinize prospective applicants for U.S. permanent residence or immigrant visas. However, with increased national security concerns arising after September 11, […]

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26 04, 2002

New Legislation: Death of Petitioning U.S. Relative No Longer Means Death to the Immigration Process

By |2002-04-26T14:00:36-05:00April 26th, 2002|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Family-Based Immigration Law, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

New Legislation: Death of Petitioning U.S. Relative No Longer Means Death to the Immigration Process April 26, 2002 INS regulations state that when a petitioning U.S. relative dies, so does the alien relative petition he/she filed on behalf of their foreign spouse, child, parent or sibling. The underlying policy being, since the basis of the foreign relative’s purpose in living in the U.S. no longer exists, consequently no good reason exists for the continued validity of the previously filed petition. Then again, however, INS regulations also recognize that extraordinary humanitarian considerations may justify the reinstatement of such a petition even though […]

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