Department Of Homeland Security spokesman Dan Kane sent out a brief release to the media this week reminding the public of the immigration agency’s name change. “Please be aware that our new branding name is: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). We will no longer use the name: Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. This name change is part of our evolutionary process as a new agency.”

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According to spokesmen for the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA), the DHS will be releasing a proposed rule on collection methods for the SEVIS fee within the next 2-3 weeks, with a 30-day comment period. Officials indicated the fee will be near the statutory maximum ($100), but the DHS has not decided when it will begin collecting the fee.

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The Legal Services Corporation has inserted a final rule in the federal register in which it revises the appendix to its regulations on restrictions on legal assistance to aliens. Recipients of Legal Services Corporation funds are permitted by law to provide legal assistance only to U.S. citizens and certain legal aliens. Recipients are required to verify the eligibility of non-U.S. citizen applicants for legal assistance by seeing documentary proof of the applicant's status. The appendix sets forth a listing of documents upon which recipients may rely to verify the eligibility of non-U.S. citizens' applications for legal assistance from LSC-funded programs: http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=5530773636+1+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

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President Bush signed the first ever homeland security appropriations bill last week. The Department’s budget for Fiscal Year 2004 totals $37.6 billion, which includes $7.2 billion generated by fees. Itemized expenses include:

$1.8 billion for CIS, an increase of 9% over last year (this figure includes $1.6 billion in projected fee revenues)

$330 million for the US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US VISIT)

$41 million for 570 new Border Patrol Agents

$35.2 million for air surveillance of the Northern Border

$6.5 million for 51 new ICE Agents

The DHS’s FY 2004 Budget Fact Sheet is available online at: http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=47&content=426

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The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced last week that notices have been sent to individuals with conditional grants of asylum based on resistance to a coercive population control program (CPC). The beneficiaries are fully eligible for all asylum benefits, along with their spouses and children if they were properly included in the application for asylum (Form I-589) as dependents and if they reside in the United States. The EOIR’s release can be viewed online at: http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/press/03/CPCAsylumRelease0903.pdf

The EOIR also released an asylum fact sheet that gives a background on the CPC program, which is limited to 1,000 individuals per fiscal year. The EOIR and USCIS have the authority to grant asylum, and the two agencies work in coordination to ensure that all 1,000 approvals are issued and that the cap is not exceeded. The fact sheet is available on line at: http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/press/03/CPCAsylumFactSheet0930.pdf

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USCIS has resumed processing applications for adoption and emigration of orphans, which had been suspended in accordance with Guatemala’s attempt to implement the Hague Convention on International Adoptions. The Constitutional Court of Guatemala deemed the implementation unconstitutional last month, but the Guatemala government is pursuing alternative implementation measures. The Department of State advises prospective adoptive parents to be aware of uncertainties regarding Guatemala’s implementation of the Hague Convention, and delays can be expected. Status updates are available at the embassy website: http://usembassy.state.gov/guatemala/wwwhadoe

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USCIS Acting Associate Director William Yates sent a memo to regional directors recently that verifies the eligibility of children born out of wedlock for derivative citizenship.

“The question has arisen whether a child born out of wedlock who has not been legitimized may derive citizenship automatically under INA Section 320 or 322 through the naturalization of the child’s mother. Children born out of wedlock were previously eligible for citizenship through Section 321 of the Act, which was repealed by P.L. 106-395. The CCA has no specific provision for children born-out-of-wedlock. The legacy-INS requested a legal opinion from the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on the issue of whether a child born out of wedlock who has not been legitimized may derive citizenship under CCA. The CIS received the opinion on July 24, 2003, in which the OLC stated that a child born out of wedlock who has not been legitimized may derive citizenship through his or her naturalizing mother under the CCA.”

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Another Yates memo to regional directors recently obtained discusses new guidelines for Service Centers when exercising their authority to issue Form I-862, Notice to Appear (NTA), and is a reminder of the existing principles that govern decisions to exercise prosecutorial discretion when adjudicating benefits applications. The NTA can be issued in:

All cases where the alien’s violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and/or Federal, State or local statues and codes constitutes a threat to public safety or national security;

Instances where fraud scheme has been detected;

Certain applications for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) where the basis for denial or withdrawal constitutes a ground of deportability or excludability.

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In June, USCIS launched its national call center with a toll-free number for customers with questions regarding immigration services and applications. Mostly contract employees staff the national call center, as opposed to local customer service centers staffed by federal employees. As a result, customer service has suffered. An American Immigration Lawyers Association survey revealed that 60% of respondents were dissatisfied with the lack of “meaningful assistance” provided by call center employees, which do not receive the same training as immigration officers.

A USCIS spokesman has said that overall, USCIS is satisfied with service, and in its own survey, found that 80% of respondents were satisfied as well. The national call center allows customers to receive faster answers for their questions, as those calling local service centers often receive busy signals.

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The Department of State has issued a notice to J-1 training sponsors that they are not allowed to issue Form DS-2019 to foreign nationals so that they can participate in a ‘second’ J-1 training program. The DOS has discovered that some organizations, especially the hotel/motel industry are requesting ‘second’ J-1 training programs for trainees.

J-1 training sponsors can designate any length of time for their J-1 training programs, but the program cannot exceed a total of eighteen months. (With the exception of J-1 flight trainee programs, which can last for up to twenty-four months.) If a sponsor has been designated to administer a twelve-month program, the sponsor can submit a request for an extension, but the duration of the training program cannot exceed eighteen months in total.