SAN JOSE USCIS FIELD OFFICE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LEGAL COMMUNITY MINUTES - December 7, 2017

Transcription

1 SAN JOSE USCIS FIELD OFFICE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LEGAL COMMUNITY MINUTES - December 7, 2017 NOT FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION In attendance from SNJ USCIS Field Office: Jim Wyrough, FOD; Anita Erfan, Section Chief; Calton Yue, Section Chief; Connie Yao, USCIS OCC, Nina Sachdev, CRO A. GENERAL PROCEDURAL QUESTIONS Field Office Contact Information FACSIMILE NUMBER: (408) For inquiries only. Note: If the interviewing officer provides you with a different facsimile number for submitting follow-up documents or correspondence, please use that fax # when responding. USCIS San Jose Website: 1. Announcements or Personnel Changes a. Are there any changes or announcements in personnel? Pilot Project - Mentoring ISO3s are our experts in adjudications. They typically conduct training and review complex cases. The pilot project will create team co-leads with ISO3s and Supervisory ISOs for the purpose of mentoring newer officers, focusing on quality adjudications and ensuring that administrative tasks are performed timely and accurately. The goal is to improve quality and consistency in adjudications. The pilot provides ISOs another person from whom to seek guidance. ISO3s Elvia Cortez (newly promoted), Rey Patague, Tammy Tsang, Simona Bezman, Bernardo Capuno, David Jio b. Is there any new information on increasing staffing/hiring due to the requirement to interview employment-based adjustments? See above. 1

2 c. Does USCIS have an estimate of how many more adjustment of status cases it will be interviewing as a result of the new EB / Refugee/Asylee and I-751 mandatory interview policy? In San Jose we estimate our FY 18 workload to be about 5800 EB, 5000 FB and 17,000 naturalization cases. The EB cases are new to us this year. In order to keep up with work demands, our continued case load is often worked on Saturday OT. d. Given the increased workload at San Jose USCIS, how much time should attorneys wait to inquire after interview on a case that remains unresolved? Please wait 60 days before submitting an inquiry. Cases continued for an in depth second interview: once the need for a second in depth interview has been identified, interviews are typically scheduled within 120 days. 2. Upcoming Naturalization Ceremony Dates and Location? All upcoming oath ceremonies are scheduled for Campbell. Jan 18, Feb 22, Mar 22, 2018 B. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS / ADMISSIBILITY 3. With the new USCIS policy of interviewing every refugee/aslyee/employment adjustment applicant and the delays this is causing, should we just have applicants bring the exams with them to the interview so they do not expire while the case is pending? The medical exam is part of the application. Attorneys are advised to follow proper filing procedures as indicated on the USCIS website to avoid delays in the case. 4. Is this office following the FAM 90 day rule? USCIS is not bound by the DOS FAM and will not use the FAM to form the basis of a denial. USCIS will look at the totality of the circumstances and makes decisions based on the facts on a case by case basis. 5. Will all officers who conduct FB interviews also be trained to conduct EB interviews? Yes, all officers are trained to conduct all types of interviews as soon as is practicable and those trained to interview I-485s will be trained to do both FB and EB interviews. 2

3 6. Will EB interviews be on the AOS or the underlying I-140 or both? While most of the attention will be on adjudication of I-485, the officer has an obligation to look at the entire case. It is within the officer s scope of duty to ask questions regarding the I-140. If there is something on the I-140 that indicates an issue, the ISO will explore that issue until resolved. Asylum adjustments: ISOs are not experts on persecution and will not be revisiting persecution or nexus to persecution findings. However, officers are trained to address issues such as terrorist related inadmissibility grounds and misrepresentation and it is appropriate to explore those issues when they arise. 7. Will EB derivative spouses be interviewed? Minor children? Yes, everyone in the application will be scheduled for an interview. If the relationship and identification of an individual is clearly established and the individual is not present, the officer has discretion to conduct the interview. Attorneys can ask that school age children be excused, and the requests will be considered. USCIS is working through this process and evaluating ways to make it more efficient. 8. Will the FOD or anyone else be delegated the authority to waive an EB interview? No. 9. Will the interviews be scheduled first-in first-out? Yes, but cases are put in the interview queue as they clear background checks. Some cases take longer to clear than others, so first-out and into the interview queue may not necessarily correlate with the cases that were filed first. C. NATURALIZATION 10. Is it an indefinite process change that all N400 applicants (not just those who reside outside the US, per USCIS instructions at ) must bring paper photos to their interviews, or if this is a temporary glitch and will be resolved soon? 11. If this is an indefinite process change from the normal N400 instructions for applicants residing in the San Jose interviewing jurisdiction, should those applications simply include the photographs with the filing, or will those be discarded and they will have to bring new photos anyway? Yes, please continue to bring 2 photos at the time of interview until further notice. 3

4 Name change requests USCIS officials do not have the authority to order name changes and SNJ only performs administrative (non-judicial) oath ceremonies. To avoid delay do not mark the name change box on the N400. D. VISA PETITIONS 12. Will USCIS adjudicate an I-130 with just the petitioner at the interview? This will be determined by the officer on a case by case basis. E. PIP / ADVANCE PAROLE / REENTRY PERMITS F. ADIT STAMPS 13. How soon can an applicant get an I-551 stamp prior to expiration of an I-751 receipt notice? 30 days 14. Can you please consider issuing 1-year I-551 stamps, instead of 6-month, to all LPRs who haven t received their green cards after waiting almost one year due to issues beyond their control, for example, lost IV packet or issues related to USCIS not properly processing the IV fee? The validity period of the I-551 is not determined by SNJ. We have and will continue to raise concerns to our Regional and HQ offices. 15. What procedures do Infopass Officers follow when it has been determined that there is a lost IV packet? Individuals need to make and InfoPass and bring picture ID and 2 passport photos. USCIS will then attempt to reconstruct the lost visa file. 16. As processing times are getting longer and longer, (I have an immediate relative parent adjustment that is taking well over a year, and an I-90 that was filed in Feb and the person will need an I-551 stamp by the end of November, I-751 petitioner whose receipt will expire, etc.), the lack of Infopass appointments is a huge problem. Is there some way they could offer more, or could they relax their definition of "emergency" to include people whose proof of Lawful Permanent Residence is about to expire? Sometimes waiting for a month or more is not an option. Expiration of proof of LPR status can be considered an emergency. 4

5 E. MISCELLANEOUS 17. When an attorney has been double booked for interviews, what is the best way to notify USCIS and ask that an accommodation be made like assigning both cases to one officer or moving one scheduled time so that the attorney can represent both clients? Please let USCIS know as soon as possible. USCIS will make accommodations to the extent possible so that the attorney can represent their clients. G. OTHER COMMENTS An AILA member wanted to acknowledge Officer Morneau (who is so professional and efficient!). Officer Morneau told the applicant that there was still space in upcoming oath ceremony so if she could wait for 30 minutes they would get her scheduled for that oath ceremony. The AILA member was so impressed by the extra effort from our local office to make sure that as many people as possible can move forward with their naturalization cases as quickly as possible. This certainly took extra effort to move these cases more quickly and all are truly appreciative! Thank you for Officer Hammond. Applicant was a DACA recipient who was interviewed for adjustment of status through marriage. This family was recently approved for a mortgage to purchase their first home, but after the DACA announcement on Sept 5, the bank decided they could no longer have the loan unless he became an LPR. They were scheduled to close on the house Oct 12. The AILA member explained the situation to Officer Hammond at the end of the interview. Officer Hammond spoke to Supervisor Robles and was able to process the case very quickly so the client could get an I-551 stamp in his passport today. The client, his wife and their four children are thrilled! I know this took extra effort and time for Officer Hammond and Supervisor Robles. The AILA attorney is so thankful that we have such caring, generous officers. Next Stakeholder Engagement Date March