Dear Readers:  

When I was a kid my little brother was always figuring out new and more clever ways to get in to trouble. I’m not going to get in to the details, but after a while, he had a reputation to defend and we were always wondering what the next creative antic coming down the pike would be.  

USCIS is like my kid brother. The agency never is comfortable resting on its laurels when there are things to stir up. Wouldn’t want those immigration lawyers to think they have it figured out for too long. Wouldn’t want those congressional committees to think oversight was just a formality.  

This week USCIS announced a proposed rule that would require people with 20 to 30 year old green cards – and there are apparently hundreds of thousands of these folks – to turn in their cards and get replacements. They would have 120 days to do so and will need to spend nearly $400 in the process.  

Umh, didn’t the State Department just conduct a little experiment like this with requiring passports on a tight deadline? There are some very legitimate reasons for wanting to get old green cards off the street including security issues tied to the high tech biometrics built in. But one is left just a little bewildered about why it should cost about $400 for something that is largely similar to a drivers license in terms of the costs of production. And it seems a pretty interesting coincidence that USCIS is announcing this after a massive fee increase was just put in place that nearly doubled the costs of getting a replacement green card.  

Does USCIS have the ability to process these cases quickly and efficiently? I have not seen any evidence the agency can handle it’s current workload, much less the new cases. The Nebraska Service Center is reporting that it is taking them nearly two years – two years!! – to issue a ten year replacement green card. Now that’s not to say that USCIS can’t get this done. But like my kid brother, we’ve come to have certain expectations. After all, they have a reputation at stake.  

*****  

Finally, as always, if you are interested in becoming a Siskind Susser Bland client, please feel welcome to email me at gsiskind@visalaw.com or contact us at 800-748-3819 to arrange for a telephone or in person consultation with one of our lawyers.

Regards,

Greg Siskind