I-140/I-485的新程序与老问题：移民局在TSC会议上的说明
Christina Le, Associate Attorney at Liu & Associates, PLLC
On May 20, attorneys at Liu & Associates attended a meeting with U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) officials at the Texas
Service Center (“TSC”) and toured the Records Facility and offices. At
the meeting, we discussed general case issues with officials from USCIS
Headquarters and Supervisors at the TSC, including the specific supervisors
in charge of the employment-based I-140 petitions and I-485 applications.
In the following, we provide a brief summary of new information provided by
USCIS officials at the meeting.
1. General Remarks and Overview
2. The Lockbox Process
3. I-140 Processing and Excessive Documentation
4. Questions about I-485 Processing
1. General Remarks and Overview
Mr. David Roark, the TSC Director, stated that the number of cases being
filed at the TSC is starting to increase after a decline during the last
fiscal year. TSC currently is receiving approximately 4,400 I-140 petitions
and 1,000 I-485 applications each month. For I-140/I-485 cases filed
concurrently, which means they are filed at the same time and received
together, approximately 50% of these cases are adjudicated within 90 days.
Echoing the goal voiced by USCIS Headquarters, Mr. Roark reiterated that TSC
is striving to be more consistent among its decisions and to be more
transparent and accessible to the public.
USCIS Chief Counsel Roxana Bacon announced that USCIS is making great
efforts to catch up to the electronic information age and to take advantage
of computers and the internet. USCIS has contracted with IBM to develop a
transformed data collection system that will be available to all government
agencies and eventually will enable real-time communication with
stakeholders and adjudication of cases. Along these same lines, USCIS is
engaging in agency-wide policy review and reform with an ultimate end goal
of consistency in adjudications. Information about a new, robust electronic
filing system was also mentioned by both other USCIS officials.
2. The Lockbox Process
As many I-485 applicants are aware, at the beginning of 2010, USCIS
announced a procedural change that required all standalone I-485
applications to be mailed to USCIS Lockboxes. Various problems have
resulted with Lockbox processing, including a lengthy delay in receipting
and erroneous rejections. The meeting provided us with the opportunity to
raise our concerns directly with the person in charge of the Lockbox.
Mr. David Hiles, Chief of the Lockbox Operations Division, made a brief
presentation regarding the USCIS decision to migrate all immigration
petition/application intake to Lockbox facilities. In 2007, USCIS decided
to adopt a Lockbox intake procedure similar to that of the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) and selected JP Morgan to serve as the Lockbox provider. The
Service Centers began to transfer employment-based I-485 applications to the
Lockboxes in December 2009 and have begun to transfer I-140 petitions and I
-539 applications as of May 2010. USCIS aims to complete the migration
process of all forms by the end of 2010. |
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