NAFSA

In late September, members of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors and officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service met via conference call. Acting INS Service Centers Director Fujie Ohata was on the call. Ms. Ohata is filling the position of head of service center operations temporarily and will return to the California Service Center.

The first issue discussed was the new INS fee structure. One key change noted is that there are no longer add-on fees on I-129 Forms for items such as consular notification, extensions and change of status. A single flat fee has replaced the confusing fee structure.

NAFSA noted problems with members of the public being able to reach by telephone service center officials to discuss problems. Ohata acknowledged the problem and suggested creating a system where NAFSA would be provided with a few key contact people at each service center. NAFSA also stressed the need for INS to adequately respond to universities and to the general public.

NAFSA further noted inconsistencies in the processing of J-1 employment authorization documents particularly concerning the submission of living expense budgets. The INS will sometimes accept the budget paperwork and sometimes reject it.

NAFSA officials also met with INS officials on August 13th to discuss service center issues. The first issue discussed was the creation of the new Immigration Services Division (ISD) at INS. A new Office of Field Operations within ISD will oversee local and district offices. This will hopefully result in improved coordination between local offices and the Regional Service Centers and Headquarters.

NAFSA raised the issue of when an F-1 student may apply for Optional Practical Training. The law requires the student study for nine months first, but must the nine months be complete at the time of application or at the time the benefit is granted? The INS asked NAFSA to submit the question in writing.

NAFSA noted to the INS an inconsistency among service centers regarding stated educational requirements for national interest and outstanding scholars cases. Some service centers are requiring a doctoral degree as a minimum requirement while others will accept a masters or below if other requirements are met. The INS again asked NAFSA to follow up with a written inquiry.

The INS indicated that it would like to furnish NAFSA with information on the most common types of mistakes made in filing so that processing delays can be reduced.

NAFSA inquired about how I-765s should be filled out for Asian students eligible for Special Student Relief. The question focused on Line 16 of the form regarding the regulation to list for employment authorization. The INS indicated that it would look into the matter and report back to NAFSA.

AILA-INS Immigrant Services Division - 10/1/98

The INS reports continuing software problems with the scheduling of fingerprints at Application Service Centers. Appointments are being manually scheduled. AILA members with clients who have not been scheduled for appointments through the Nebraska Service Center are asked to contact the AILA liaison for the NSC.

The NSC has apparently modified its procedures and is mailing advance paroles to attorneys of record.

The INS confirmed that it will now backdate Employment Authorization Documents to the date of filing to avoid Section 212 problems. For those with gap related problems, contact the Service Center to get a corrected document.

The INS confirmed an increase in fraud referrals involving education and experience documentation for Indian nationals. Typically, a fax is being sent to the US Consulate in Chennai for investigation and the turnaround response time is two to four weeks. The fraud rate on referred cases is 32% for educational documents and 74% for experience letters.

The INS indicated it is prepared to begin accepting the new $500 scholarship/training fee required under the new H-1B program. The INS will issue a guidance memo soon after the legislation is passed.

AILA-INS Immigrant Services Division - 10/15/98

The Service Centers have started to receive verbal guidance from Headquarters on implementing the NY Dept. of Transportation National Interest Waiver case. INS confirmed that it has reversed its long-standing policy that doctors automatically qualify for a National Interest Waiver by performing services in a medically underserved area. The Service Centers confirmed that they have been holding cases up until the decision on the NYDOT case came out and have now issued Requests for Evidence on a number of cases. The Nebraska Service Center seems to be taking the toughest line - more than 1,100 RFEs have been issued compared with 100 at the Vermont Service Center.

The INS is instructing Service Centers to treat any newly incorporated business, even if it is a subsidiary of a well-established business, to be covered under the new business regulations for L-1 intracompany transfer petitions. AILA will fight INS on this issue.

INS reports continued software problems issuing fee receipts in Investor Petition cases. The "Tiger Team" working on backlogged investor cases at the California Service Center will complete its work this month. Cases needing further evidence will be sent back to the Service Centers for further handling.

AILA-INS Vermont Service Center - 09/23/98

The INS indicated it is beginning to work I-485 cases and is slowly reducing its backlog that is now 14 months. A number of new officers have been hired and are being trained to handle the cases and that the VSC is looking into overtime options to help. The VSC also indicated that it would not follow national guidelines and require new medical examinations when the normal 12-month expiration period passes.

AILA reported serious problems with the issuance of green cards at the VSC since processing has been transferred from Texas. The INS offered an extensive explanation that basically blamed the problem on system and software problems and also on the failure of the district offices to follow proper procedures. The VSC instructed AILA lawyers to go back to the District Offices to resolve the problem. [Editorial note - the explanation provides a clear illustration of a more serious problem with the INS - the failure of INS headquarters to ensure uniformity in processing at the local, regional and central offices of the INS and the standard operating procedure of INS officers to blame another INS office for a customer's problem].

AILA reported that the VSC is producing cards that list the date the card was created in the place where the date legal permanent residence should be granted. The INS has not yet determined how it will correct the problem.

The VSC indicated that it is now using a separate PO Box for naturalization filings. Those cases should be sent to

VSC

P.O. Box 400

St. Albans, VT 05479-0400

All other cases should be filed at this address:

VSC

75 Lower Welden Street

St. Albans, VT 05479-0001

AILA-INS TEXAS SERVICE CENTER - 09/08/98

The INS has still not set a date to begin the pilot electronic filing program for naturalization applications publicized at the AILA annual conference in Houston this past June.

AILA questioned the TSC on exceptionally long processing times for E Visa Change of Status cases. TSC blames lack of personnel for the backlog. They are working on a plan to address the problem.

AILA complained about the backlog on I-824 cases. TSC admitted that it has some I-824 petitions as much as 11 months old but is planning to become current on all petitions within two months.

AILA noted a problem with some L petitions for start up companies being denied because of a lack of sufficient office staff even though the support letters state that the new office will be hiring staff within the first year. This is something the regulations support. TSC asked for case numbers and promised to review the matter with the examiner.

TSC reports little progress in processing I-130 cases for immediate relatives. It is still taking more than eight months [Editorial note: The Vermont Service Center, by contrast, processes these cases in just 60 to 90 days].

TSC reported that direct filing of I-130 cases would probably not happen in Fiscal Year 1999.

AILA complained that I-485 cases are taking as long as 30 days to fee in and this causes problems in cases where advance parole and employment authorization is needed. TSC responded by saying that if the login time takes more than 30 days, it is because of a surge in applications received. As for I-485 processing times, the TSC claims to be processing them within 12 months. [Editor's note - This clearly seems to be false since our firm and several others we know have cases pending as long as 20 months that have few complications and should be clearly approvable.]

An AILA member asked what to do if a petition was filed, but no receipt or canceled check has been received after two months. TSC responded by saying that one should assume the petition has not been entered into the system and it should be refiled. Also send proof of prior filing so that it is handled as if from the original date.

The TSC still prefers to get separate checks for fingerprints in adjustment and naturalization cases.