LIAISON NEWS - AILA AND NAFSA MEET WITH DEPARTMENT OF STATE WAIVER REVIEW BRANCH

Organizations like the American Immigration Lawyers Association and NAFSA, The Association of International Educators, regularly meet with government representatives.  Not infrequently, important policy decisions are announced at these meetings.

AILA meeting

Since the merger of the United States Information Agency into the State Department, processing of J-1 waivers seems to have ground to a complete halt, and no one within the Waiver Review Branch seems available to discuss pending cases.  The problems within the Branch were the topic of discussion at a meeting between representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Director of the State Department Office of Public and Diplomatic Liaison.

At the outset of the meeting the State Department acknowledged that the merger has caused tremendous processing problems, problems that State wants to address.  Two new data entry clerks have been hired.  Also, beginning March 31, 2000 a new fee payment system will be instituted, where fees will be processed off-site.  This will allow the single person who processes advisory opinions, who also is currently processing fees, to concentrate on this work.  Also, the State Department is working to implement an electronic data scanning system by the end of the year that will save time lost in inputting data.

AILA asked if the State Department would institute the USIA practice of making officers available to discuss cases with attorneys and the public.  The State Department responded that this was not an option for two reasons.  First, the Department wants to use its resources to work on cases, and second, it does not want to show special treatment to those who “yell the loudest.”

The usefulness of the automated status phone line was also discussed.  This line has recently been updated, and the State Department claims the processing times are accurate.  Those who have used this line know that there are problems beyond the processing times issue.  For many cases, the system does not provide much information.  According to the State Department, this is because of the incompatibility of the telephone system and the computer system used for data entry.  This problem was not discovered until after the merger, and required the replacement of software and an upgrade of the phone system.  State says this work is almost completed.

Current Processing Times for the Waiver Review Branch:  

NAFSA meeting

NAFSA, because it is involved with international education, has special concern about J visa issues, and since the merger of the USIA into the State Department has been inundated with reports of communication problems and processing delays.  NAFSA is also concerned about the decrease in the availability of officials to discuss difficult cases. 

Because of these concerns, the NAFSA J Working Group has sent a letter to the Waiver Review Branch.  Along with requesting updated processing times, the letter drew special attention to the fact that there are some special cases that require direct communication between the waiver review officer and the alien or their representative.

The letter also pointed out the fact that NAFSA had experienced a production relationship with the waiver branch of the USIA, and hopes to continue it with the Waiver Review Branch.  NAFSA also offered to help with the development of communication policies that will keep the public informed without distracting waiver review officers from their work of adjudicating waiver applications.