Overall the new look, navigation and improved attempts at transparency are welcome. Cutting directly to the chase, below are several key areas that have taken great strides with the new USCIS homepage.

The new Main Page:

USCIS New Homepage (Sept 2009)

The new homepage features easy navigation tabs on the top: Topics, Forms, Resources, Law, News, About Us. This new navigation is not that “new” over what was there previously so for now lets move on. What “is” new is a nice little box on the upper left that says, “Where to Start”. This allows users to select “what they are trying to do”. For example you can select “I am a US Citizen” trying to “Bring my Fiance to the US”. The user is then provided with a starting point and basic information on what he or she may need to do. This is a welcome improvement and should at least give “new” immigration visitors a quick way to find out the basics on their immigration road ahead.

Also on the left of the main page is a series of links to “Customer Tools”. This up front section is clearly labeled and provides easy access to the e-tools that USCIS customers may need through the process.

USCIS Tools Menu

One of the most improved areas is the USCIS processing time webpage. While many elements of the previous webpage still exist (USCIS Service Center “current” processing dates), the USCIS webpage now allows users to select their benefit using drop down menus and to see “processing goal” periods for the petition (how long the USCIS hopes to process their petition in) and “actual” current processing times (how long the USCIS is actually processing them in). One question that immediately jumps out is, “how up to date and accurate is the processing in xx months estimate?”. Our guess is that it may simply generated from the USCIS “current” dates for given petitions at a Service Center (previously available information) but “maybe” (if we are lucky) USCIS has opened a deeper data source with more “live” information. We will report back once this becomes clear. Again, one thing that is certainly new and welcome is that USCIS now publishes processing time “goals” where previously they simply gave users no clue on how long they hoped to process petitions in. Kudos for this.

USCIS Processing Time Estimates

In addition to checking how long your petition may take, the USCIS case status system has been “improved” and now visually shows you where your petition sits in the process. This is a welcome step and helps give users an idea of “where” they are at along the road to their application being complete.

USCIS Case Status

In addition to knowing where you sit in the process, USCIS also now allows you to receive “text messages” to your mobile device when updates are available. Previously this information was available online and also via email. For all those “case status” junkies out there (nothing to be ashamed about!) this is a welcome addition!

In an interesting move, the last major notable addition to the processing time page is a new feature (we mentioned greater transparency) to allow users to see current “National Processing” Volumes and Trends. This is an excellent source of information that allows users to see if USCIS is slowing down or speeding up and if their case loads are doing the same. The same question about “where is this data coming from and how accurate is it” still remains, but this is a welcome addition regardless.

The USCIS “Volumes and Trends” charts are quite interesting and show both National and “Specific” Office (local and Service Center) information for petitions relating to many different benefits. Their data is about one to two months old but still very useful. Both Graphs (visual) and “csv” (data) are provided. As an example, here are the graphs showing Trends for I-129F petitions (for a Fiance of a US Citizen) at both the National level and the California Service Center:

USCIS I-129F National Trends

USCIS I-129F CSC Trends

This data mainly shows “cases” received, pending, completed and waiting on customer replies (RFEs). Although this does not directly indicate the current “processing time” (other portions as noted above of the USCIS site provide this) it does allow users to understand and visualize the “work” being done by USCIS on received cases. You could interpret the graphs in one case as:

— Rising pending cases indicates a slow down and increased processing time; the cause can be identified potentially as ‘customer driven’ if there are a lot of new petitions received (see a jump on the graph), or ‘USCIS driven’ if there are no jumps in new received cases but only a jump is pending cases.

A last feature of note that many may glance over are the new “feeds” available on USCIS pages. You can now receive rss feeds on most USCIS pages including notifications when updates are made. This is a excellent way to track updates at USCIS and a terrific addition.

USCIS Feeds

So these are the “big” areas of note for now on the new USCIS homepage. Overall we give a thumbs up to the improvements. On a five star scale we give it 3.5 out of 5 stars (not bad for a big government website). The only major thorn that we have is that we wish that USCIS would have been able to shorten their urls a little…

Example: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9059d9808bcbd010VgnVCM100000d1f1d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=9059d9808bcbd010VgnVCM100000d1f1d6a1RCRD

…which to us would be more more useful if it read:

http://www.uscis.gov/forms/file-my-application-online

This gripe aside, USCIS certainly has a nice starting point for their new homepage and with any luck things will only improve!

Note: We will check back with USCIS.gov and update this article once they fix a few bugs that are preventing certain new features from working. Updates will be made here so check back later.

Sgt. Michael Ferschke was killed in Iraq in 2008, leaving his widow and infant son, both Japanese citizens, in immigration limbo: A 1950s legal standard meant to curb marriage fraud means U.S. authorities do not recognize the marriage, even though the military does.

Ferschke and his bride had been together in Japan for more than a year, and she was pregnant when he deployed. They married by signing their names on separate continents and did not have a chance to meet again in person after the wedding, which a 57-year-old immigration law requires for the union to be considered consummated.

“She is being denied because they are saying her marriage is not valid because it was not consummated — despite the fact that they have a child together,” said Brent Renison, an immigration lawyer in Oregon who has advised the family.

Hotaru Ferschke and the baby, Michael “Mikey” Ferschke III, are staying for now on a temporary visa at the home of her parents-in-law, in the Smoky Mountains town of Maryville. Robin and Michael Ferschke Sr., who are fighting for their daughter-in-law to stay, have emblazoned their son’s picture on everything from a blanket draped on the back of the couch to a waving banner on the fence outside.

continued at AP.org

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today issued guidance on requesting deferred action for surviving spouses of U.S. citizens who died before the second anniversary of their marriage. Surviving spouses qualify for this temporary program if they were married to, but not legally separated from, their U.S. citizen spouse at the time of that spouse’s death; did not remarry; and are currently residing in the United States.

Surviving spouses qualify for deferred action regardless of whether the U.S. citizen spouse filed a Form I-130 petition for them. Surviving spouses may ask to have their qualifying children included in their deferred action request. To be considered a “qualifying child” of a surviving spouse, the child must be younger than age 21 or otherwise qualify as a child when the deferred action request is submitted; currently reside in the United States; and be unmarried.

USCIS has revised the instructions to the Forms I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and I-131, Application for Travel Document, as they relate to this temporary new program.

Surviving spouses who apply for deferred action will need to file Form I-360 with supporting documentation and the $375 filing fee with the Vermont Service Center.

Work authorization will be available to surviving spouses and qualifying children who are granted deferred action and who can establish economic necessity. Form I-765 is used for this purpose (separate applications are required for each person seeking work authorization).

Travel authorization will also be available to surviving spouses and qualified children granted deferred action under this program.

USCIS has posted on the Web, an accompanying list of questions and answers and a fact sheet about this program. For additional information about this and other immigration services, please call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283, or visit the USCIS homepage.

updated, Aug 23 2008

Step 1: Contact the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283. The NCSC can assist customers, community-based organizations and liaison groups with case related inquiries. Before calling the NCSC please have available your receipt number, alien registration number, type of application filed and date filed. During your call we recommend that you take note of the following information:

-The name and/or id number of the NCSC representative

-The date and time of the call

-Any service request referral number, if a service referral on a pending case is taken

Step 2: If more than 30 days have passed since you contacted the NCSC and the issue has not been resolved or explained you can email the proper USCIS Service Center to check the status of your case.

-California Service Center: csc-ncsc-followup@dhs.gov

-Vermont Service Center: vsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov

-Nebraska Service Center: ncscfollowup.nsc@dhs.gov

-Texas Service Center: tsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov

Please note: Emails should be sent to the Service Center that has jurisdiction over your case. The receipt notice will indicate EAC for the Vermont Service Center, SRC for the Texas Service Center, LIN for the Nebraska Service Center, and WAC for the California Service Center.

When contacting the Service Centers by email you will need to provide the information outlined in Step 1. If the NCSC did not issue a service request after your call, please indicate the reason the NCSC representative did not issue the request.

Step 3: In the event you do not receive a response within 21 days of contacting the appropriate Service Center, you may email the USCIS Headquarters Office of Service Center Operations by email at: SCOPSSCATA@dhs.gov. You will receive a response from this email address within ten days.

Published online:

In July the Senate passed an amendment to prevent deportation of widows who were married to American citizens.

The measure, introduced by Florida Senator Bill Nelson and others, was attached to a homeland-security spending bill which has yet to be considered by the House.

The so-called “widow penalty’’ under current law says a foreigner must be married to an American for two years to qualify for legal residency in this country. Those widowed before two years can be deported.

Nelson cited the case of Natalia Goukassian of Daytona Beach, who faced deportation proceedings after her husband died in 2006. The widow had come to this country legally from Russia.

Nelson said she is one of hundreds of widows trying to fend off deportation.

and a quote from the Mainstreet Business Journal

Hatch’s amendment also remedies the unintended and unjustified administrative procedure of what has become known as the “widow penalty.” In recent years, several aliens whose spouses died while their applications were stuck in the government’s bureaucracy have filed lawsuits, arguing that their application for permanent residency should not be denied simply because DHS had not yet finished processing the application before the citizen spouse met an untimely death.

Hatch’s amendment would eliminate the requirement that alien widows and widowers of deceased U.S. Citizens must have been married to the U.S. Citizen for a minimum of two years or face automatic denial. Such aliens seeking to stay in the United States would still be required to meet the universal standard for proving to the satisfaction of DHS that their marriage was bona fide and not entered into for the purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit. While the numbers of aliens affected by this penalty are small, several of their cases are highly sympathetic: they include individuals widowed by tragic accidents, and surviving spouses who had young children with the U.S. Citizen before the citizen’s untimely death.

The amendment would also codify in law DHS’s current regulation allowing DHS to continue to consider an alien’s application for permanent residency that had already been in process when the alien’s sponsoring relative dies, subject to the Secretary’s exercise of discretion. Applications may only be considered if the paperwork was on file at the time of the sponsor’s death, and if such aliens have continued to reside in the United States.

“Our close partnership with the FBI has resulted in the accomplishment of this significant achievement with national security as its foundation,” said USCIS Acting Deputy Director Michael Aytes. “This continued working relationship will help to ensure that name check processing is accomplished as quickly as possible without compromising security concerns.”

The final goal of the business plan was to achieve a sustainable performance level by the NNCP of completing 98 percent of name check requests submitted by USCIS within 30 days, and the remaining two percent within 90 days. This performance level will become the new standard.

These vastly improved performance levels were achieved through a variety of collaborative steps taken by USCIS and the FBI, including:

–o an increase in NNCP staffing made possible by the transfer of appropriated funds from USCIS funding and additional fee revenue for name check processing;

–o name check process improvements initiated by the FBI;

–o refinements in the name check file search criteria which enabled the FBI to focus on files most likely to yield pertinent search results;

–o training of NNCP staff on USCIS adjudication requirements and the applicability of name check search results to USCIS adjudications; and

–o other cooperative measures including assignment of USCIS personnel to the NNCP.

As is the case with all security checks undertaken by USCIS, any information provided by the FBI through these checks may require further evaluation and may need additional interaction with agencies outside USCIS to obtain updated or additional information. This could result in additional delays in processing and is not governed by the processing goals contained in the joint business plan.

In the majority of instances, however, the completion of a backlogged FBI name check has resulted in a “no record response.” As a result, USCIS has been able to resume normal processing of most cases which most often ends in a final determination of eligibility. Next steps in the adjudication of cases that were previously delayed as a result a pending FBI name check request may now include updating fingerprint results, scheduling interviews, requesting additional evidence and other reviews to determine whether the applicant is eligible for the requested immigration benefit.

Only a few hundred people were at risk of deportation under the policy, but critics viewed it as one of the most painful consequences of President George W. Bush’s immigration crackdown.

Under the current interpretation of federal law, some immigrants whose American spouses had died faced possible deportation because their legal status was in limbo. The rule applied to immigrants who had been married for less than two years or whose green-card process hadn’t been completed when their spouses died. The clause, known as the “widow penalty,” had resulted in a spate of lawsuits.

On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that her agency was freezing any action against such widows and widowers for two years. “Smart immigration policy balances strong enforcement practices with common-sense, practical solutions to complicated issues,” Ms. Napolitano said.

A Department of Homeland Security statement said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that oversees immigrant petitions, would give favorable consideration to requests for reinstatement of cases that previously had been revoked under the law.

Ms. Napolitano’s directive offers relief, if only temporary, to some 200 widows and widowers. However, it suggests the Obama administration could be testing a softer approach to other contentious aspects of immigration policy.

“It’s a good sign, and it hedges Obama’s bets: If comprehensive [immigration] reform advances, this will help pave the way. If not, at least he can say he tried,” said Dan Kowalski, an Austin, Texas, immigration attorney and editor of Bender’s Immigration Bulletin.

–>
read article at WSJ

–o been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS);
–o a pending application for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident;
–o a pending application for relief under section 203 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA 203);
–o a pending asylum application; or
–o a pending application for legalization.

To obtain Advance Parole, individuals must file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, which is available in the Related Links section of this page.

Advance Parole is permission to reenter the United States after traveling abroad. Advance Parole is an extraordinary measure used sparingly to allow an otherwise inadmissible individual to enter the United States due to compelling circumstances. By law, certain individuals must apply for a travel document and have Advance Parole approved before leaving the United States. Attempts to reenter the United States without prior authorization may have severe consequences since individuals requiring advance parole may be unable to return to the United States and their pending applications may be denied or administratively closed.

Applicants planning travel abroad should plan ahead since applicants can anticipate processing times of about 90 days, depending on the USCIS office location. Instructions for filing Form I-131 provide details on where to mail travel document applications and should be followed carefully to avoid delay. For more information on Advance Parole see How Do I Get a Travel Document? (also in the Related Links) and instructions for Form I-131.

Note:
Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, aliens who depart the United States after being unlawfully present in the United States for certain periods can be barred from admission to lawful permanent resident status, even if they have obtained Advance Parole. Aliens who have been unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days, but less than one year, are inadmissible for three years; those who have been unlawfully present for one year or more are inadmissible for 10 years. Aliens who are unlawfully present, then depart the United States and subsequently reenter under a grant of parole, may still be ineligible to adjust their status.

Individuals who have been admitted as refugees or granted asylum, including those who are applying for adjustment of status, do not need to obtain Advance Parole. Instead, these individuals should apply for a Refugee Travel Document using Form I-131 and comply with applicable application requirements, such as biometric processing, prior to leaving the United States.

Lawful permanent residents who obtained such status as a result of being a refugee or asylee in the United States may also apply for a Refugee Travel Document. For more information on Refugee Travel Documents please see How Do I Get a Refugee Travel Document?

Asylum applicants, asylees and lawful permanent residents who obtained such status based on their asylum status are subject to special rules with regard to traveling outside the United States. Such individuals are encouraged to review USCIS’ Fact Sheet Traveling Outside the United States as an Asylum Applicant, an Asylee, or a Lawful Permanent Resident Who Obtained Such Status Based on Asylum Status.

Before making any plans to travel abroad, all individuals with pending applications for adjustment of status, relief under NACARA 203, or asylum are urged to consult an immigration attorney or immigration assistance organization accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals, or by calling USCIS’ Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

If the application is approved subsequent to your interview or by a Service Center or the National Benefit Center, the applicant should bring the above documents to an INFOPASS appointment to be issued temporary evidence of permanent residence in the form of an I-551 stamp.