USCIS/AILA Liaison Meeting September 25, 2014 Attendees: Raymond Adams, USCIS Maria R. Chavez, USCIS Luz Van Haselen, USCIS James Patterson, USCIS Margaret Hartnett, USCIS Daniel Caudillo Evelyn Espinoza Iliana Holguin Gabriel Jimenez Ray Lauser Cynthia Lopez Melissa M. Lopez Jessie Miles Jeanne Morales Analuisa Pablos J. Marcos Perales Pina Susan Ramos Arturo Rodriguez Alex Rossario Melissa Untereker Arturo Vazquez Susanna Visconti NOTES FROM USCIS: USCIS has increased staff and have new people on board. There is a hybrid position for processing mail following the retirement of Daniel Griffin. They currently have a records management position open. Adjudication and information officer positions are fully staffed. If you notice some of the information officers are missing at the windows, it is because Mr. Adams is moving them to adjudicate I-90s. NBC handles I-90s, but the I-90s were shared with the field offices due to the backlog. El Paso will handle a significant number of I-90s as a matter of course. Many cases that were being handled by the El Paso Office related to interview waiver cases are now being shifted out of El Paso. There has been an increase in N-400 filings. They are really pushing for adjudication of those N-400s because they don t want cycle times to go up. Currently, there are not very many cases on the shelves in the El Paso USCIS Office. There are a few RFEs and a handful of I-751s ready to be scheduled. There are only about ten I-130s that need to be scheduled for an interview. Applications are handed to the adjudication officers
quickly. If you have any cases that are being handled and there is a delay that is causing a problem, send an email to Maria R. Chavez. If you just the need status, then send to SRNT (National Customer Service number). Rescheduling of interview appointments need to go through proper channels. Ms. Chavez will only work on those cases where we have tried to go through proper channels and have not been able to achieve a resolution. They won t expedite anything that is within cycle time or where no attempt for InfoPass has been made. If you go to Infopass, they will request the file and then it would be available when you email to follow up. As the fiscal year ends, the El Paso USCIS office has met all goals for completion this year. They had a good year. Wait times for El Paso are as good as any office in the country. The supervisors have done a great job of keeping things moving and keeping cycle times low. Ms. Chavez s email address is Maria.R.Chavez@uscis.dhs.gov. Questions and Responses: 1. Is there a document/worksheet/decision flowchart that USCIS uses when an applicant is trying to recapture a priority date, and can we get a copy? A. There is no flow chart. If there is a question, USCIS will touch base with the State Department. If USCIS needs to work with State on a case, they will. Most officers have a pretty good knowledge of priority dates and whether it can be recaptured. If you have a complicated case, send the case to Ms. Chavez, and she will forward it to the right person. 2. I received an adjustment of status denial on an inspected and admitted issue. In the case, the applicant was waived in by a customs officer and did NOT make a false claim, facts very similar to Matter of Quilantan (BIA 2010). There are also two recent BIA decisions, Matter of Fonseca-Haro (BIA 2014) and a case that took place in Las Vegas, supporting Matter of Quilantan. Is there a change in the way your office is deciding cases that fall under Matter of Quilantan? A. This is an age old problem. The analysis is done on a case-by-case basis. The bottom line is that the applicant has to submit clear and convincing evidence that the alien was waived through. The burden is on the alien to submit that evidence. Mr. Adams can t say what clear and convincing is going to mean in any case, but the evidence must be believable. You have to submit enough evidence to show it really did happen. Mr. Adams has spoken to USCIS Counsel on this issue (Adam Chester and Mark Wurtz), and they are adamant that the burden is on the applicant. Many of these cases are denied because applicant can t meet the standard. There is no magical piece of paper that might work. Further question from Jessie Miles: I am curious why you are applying a clear and convincing standard. I believe that based on the statute regarding admissions, USCIS is applying the improper standard.
A. Remember that supervisors review all denials. Mr. Adams will follow up with Ms. Miles and revisit this issue. 3. Recently, a 78-year old applicant for Naturalization was denied because she was never a LPR because she married her first cousin and according to the denial notice Texas does not recognize marriages between first cousins. Who makes legal determinations, like the one in this case, on Texas Family Law? Does USCIS make those determinations or do you obtain an opinion from OCC? If it is USCIS, are those decisions made by the local adjudicator or a USCIS attorney? A. If you believe an application was denied erroneously, the proper response is to file a Motion to Reopen. If you contact Ms. Chavez, she can look at the case, but she can t take action without a Motion to Reopen. USCIS works closely with USCIS attorneys in a number of cases; however, not on every case. Many cases go through Mr. Patterson, Adam Chester or Mark Wurtz. Mr. Chester and Mr. Wurtz provide a tremendous amount of support. In this particular case, if you give Ms. Chavez the A# and name of the client, she will look into it. 4. Is there a protocol for how INFOPASS appointments are handled? We go about once every 3 4 weeks, and the information/assistance that we receive is inconsistent. A. There are only 3 people to man the windows, and periodically they have to pull someone up there. So, appointments are limited. They recently had some new people at window, and they work with them to say right things. Normally, they do a good job. There are times where they have limited information, which is why they often respond with little information. Some of the cases end up with a supervisor, and others end up in FDNS. Officers look for notation in file. Cases are moving constantly, so it makes sense that they would say pending. Again, Mr. Cintron was recently pulled from the InfoPass window to do I-90 adjudications, but you should get same level of service from everyone. If get inadequate response, ask for Ms. Chavez or another supervisor so that they can look into it. You can always elevate a case. Ms. Chavez likes to take complaints as she will dig into it right away. Now that everyone is trained everyone can accept payments for EOIR applications. Recently, there was a couple that complained. They were frustrated that they kept being told that their case was pending. When Ms. Chavez investigated, she saw that the case was with the NTA Board and very likely a NTA would be issued. In this case, it is likely that the person will be deported. Ms. Chavez advised him to seek counsel because he didn t qualify for a waiver. But, in cases like that that are pending before the NTA Board, they don t want to say too much because they don t know what will happen. If feel information being provided is insufficient, ask for Ms. Chavez.
5. How long does it take to adjudicate an N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document? We have one that has been pending almost a year. A. These adjudications are done at the service center, not the local office. They used to adjudicate them locally, but not anymore. InfoPass officers won t say where it is pending, they just say that it is pending. 6. If we paid the fee for the Judge to adjudicate the I-485 and the Judge terminated/dismissed the case instead, can we use the fee receipt USCIS produced for EOIR to ask that USCIS adjudicate the I-485? A. Yes, you don t have to pay the fee again. If cases are terminated by the judge, client needs to go to InfoPass and provide the receipt number. The officer will look for the receipt number and once they find it, they will attach it copy of I-485. There is no connection between the system to fee in EOIR applications and the USCIS adjudication system, so you have to make a connection by making an InfoPass appointment. They will locate receipt number and ask for a copy of the I-485, then that will be given to the supervisor. The Information Officers will start process there. The person will then be scheduled for fingerprints, and the Information Officer will ask for file. If there is some information missing, like the medical exam, they will send an RFE. It is okay if the medical exam was opened by Judge, but if it old, then will need a new one. 7. Can you please clarify whether your office will consider granting PIP to military spouses for urgent humanitarian reasons even if the immigrant spouse is ultimately ineligible for adjustment, such as due to 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I)? Or will PIP not be granted in any case unless the immigrant spouse is eligible for adjustment? A. A spouse doesn t need to be eligible for adjustment. The adjustment and the parole are two separate matters. Someone can receive PIP although they are ineligible to adjust. The parole can be renewed in those cases. This applies to parents as well. At one time, perhaps ten years ago, if they were eligible to adjust USCIS would encourage them to adjust almost immediately. Now, that there is headquarters policy, they are 2 separate issues. Liz Lerma has been going to Ft. Bliss for the past 2 or 3 years, but Sylvia Rivera is going to go out next week or so. They will begin rotating the officer that visits Ft. Bliss every quarter. 8. An El Paso USCIS adjudicating officer recently found our adjustment of status client inadmissible under INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i) for using an invented social security number to obtain employment from a private employer. Under oath during his interview, the client swore that he did not falsely claim U.S. citizenship and that he did not present any false documents at the time he sought employment. Based on this set of facts, neither the USCIS Policy Manual, the FAM, nor governing case law would support a finding of inadmissibility under INA Sec. 212(a)(6)(C)(i). See USCIS Policy Manual Ch. 2, Sec. B;
see also, 9 FAM 40.63 N4.3; see also, Matter of Y-G-, 20 I&N Dec. 794, 796 (BIA 1994). Was the adjudicator clearly incorrect in her finding? Or has USCIS changed its interpretation of INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i) in that a misrepresentation to a private individual for employment purposes now constitutes misrepresentation to a U.S. government official so as to establish inadmissibility under this ground? A. Submitted it through counsel. Will get a response to us. Additional Questions: 1. For parole cases that are being stamped not an entry document, ACCs are willing to terminate those cases. If the person is eligible to adjust, will USCIS adjust them? A. If they are paroled or admitted, they are eligible to adjust. 2. Since we are no longer using congressional liaison, we have to submit requests to reschedule interviews by mail. The applications are getting denied because the request is not making it into the file. Is there a way to get those cases reopened without the applicant, who was not at fault, having to pay an additional fee? A. Please give these cases to Ms. Chavez. It is better to send a request to reschedule through SRNT. If you try not to reschedule the day before in the afternoon, it won t make it to the file before the interview. Many attorneys are in court, and there are conflicts. If you provide enough information, they will pull it out right away. If it is an emergency and there are less than 24 hours until the appointment, you should submit it in person. If you have 2 or 3 interviews at the same time, email Ms. Chavez, and they will try to accommodate.