Minutes of the May 25, 2012 Meeting of the Georgia-Alabama CIS Liaison Committee and the Atlanta Field Office

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1 Minutes of the May 25, 2012 Meeting of the Georgia-Alabama CIS Liaison Committee and the Atlanta Field Office Conducted during the Annual Meeting of the AILA Georgia-Alabama Chapter Representatives: For USCIS Denise Frazier (Director, District Office), Joe Kernan (Community Relations Officer), Burn DeBoe (Section Manager, Adjustment of Status) For AILA Tracie Klinke, Bhavya Chaudhary, Mikiel Davids, Audra Doyle, Lino Rodriguez Announcements: ELIS: On May 22, 2012, USCIS finally launched ELIS, the agency s electronic immigration benefits system. At present, the system allows for online filing of Form I-539 only, to request a change or extension of status for certain visa types. Additional types of applications and benefits will be added in the future, and though this is a long-term project that will take a number of years to come to its full fruition, USCIS is very excited about the launch of the system. Attorneys are encouraged to visit USCIS website to learn more about ELIS. Further information is available at: USCIS solicited, and will continue to solicit and utilize, feedback from community about what capabilities users would like to see in the system, so please offer your suggestions and ideas. Other Local Projects: The local office is aware that within the immigrant community, some customers are particular vulnerable to being preyed upon and, therefore, it is conducting community outreach to get the word about at the availability of T, U, and V visas, as well as VAWA and SIJS benefits. The local office is also continuing its efforts to advise the community about the unlawful practice of immigration law by handing out brochures to community members, speaking at immigrant community events, etc. Furthermore, the agency continues to partner with the Department of Justice to perform services directly on military bases to help immigrant soldiers who want to become citizens. Currently USCIS performs work at Fort Benning and Fort Jackson and will be initiating work at Fort Stewart also. (Our district has the unique honor of being the only district with a USCIS office on a base, as there is at Fort Jackson.) On May 23, 2012, Director Frazier had the honor of naturalizing 42 soldiers from 22 countries. The District Office has also been working to reach out to areas that are considered a distance from Atlanta, and is making efforts to partner with community organizations and bring services to southern Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and Mobile, Alabama.

2 Questions and Responses 1. What is the preferred procedure for an N-400 applicant to elect to be naturalized through a federal court ceremony rather than a CIS administrative ceremony? a verbal request during the naturalization interview? a writing submitted at interview? The preferred way is to advise the officer at the N-400 interview. This can be communicated to the CIS after the fact, but the preference and best way is to notify the officer at the time of the interview. Also, if the applicant is requesting a name change, the oath ceremony/naturalization must be done by a federal court. 2. A member reported having an interview with a couple at USCIS Atlanta where they were closely questioned concerning their relationship but not separated. The interview went well, but the member received a second interview notice, which stated that the couple not provided enough proof of their bona fide marriage at the interview and requesting additional documents. For this particular couple, the second interview is a major inconvenience - they live four hours away and will need to take off work a second time to come to an interview. The member would like to know why the original ISO, if more information was needed, did not 1) separate them at the 1st interview and questioned them, or 2) issued an RFE requesting more documents. This member reports this happening twice in one week. What steps are being taken to try and adjudicate cases on the same day, or to avoid calling clients for a second interview? This seems like an area where the extreme backlog of cases could be cut down and where the Atlanta Field Office could find more efficient ways of managing resources. See collective answer beneath Item 4. In addition, the decision to call an applicant or petitioner and beneficiary back for a second interview is made based on the merits of the case. Sometimes USCIS will separate spouses at the first interview, sometimes they might be called back for a second interview and then separated, but this is on a case by case basis, after reviewing the merits of the case. This is at the officer s discretion, as described in the response to Item When young couples appear for I-130/I-485 interviews, they often do not own property, they do not have health or life insurance, and they do not have many assets or liabilities, as they are just starting out. What training is given to officers for couples who are young and not "document heavy"? Without a social security number, it is increasingly difficult for a foreign national to be added to accounts. Interviews happen quickly after filing (which we appreciate), but this gives scant time for merging assets. Bank accounts are opened, driver s licenses obtained, often, shortly before the interview and ISOs have expressed suspicions. The member asks that the reality of living as an immigrant in Georgia and Alabama be taken into consideration when evaluating the bona fides of a young couple s marriage.

3 See collective answer beneath Item A member reports that during an I-130/I-485 interview (husband a naturalized USC), a couple was separated, then husband was asked extensive questions about his previous marriage and his I-751, and he was asked to sign a sworn statement. Such interrogation, on events that happened years ago, is hard to understand in the context of an applicant who is already a US citizen, and who is now sponsoring his wife, with an admitted bona fide marriage (they had a child together). It appears inefficient for USCIS to look through this USC s application a fourth time (initial interview, I- 751, then N-400) to address this. Is this a new standard of review that will be applied to all cases where the USC gained citizenship through a previous marriage? What will the position of USCIS be if USC spouse is advised by counsel to take advantage of his 5th amendment rights and not answer any questions that are not related to the subject of the current marriage interview? The Director felt these questions had a common theme and the overall response for these questions is as follows: During an I-130 / I-485 interview, the burden is on the petitioner/applicant to establish eligibility for the benefit sought. If the officer has a question, such as about the relationship or previous marriages, joint documents, etc., the officer has a right to ask those questions. Attorneys can advise their client to plead the fifth if they wish that is their right and their choice but what that means is that the officer will make a determination based on the information he or she has. But officer has a right to ask about previous marriages, prior spouses, etc. and to consider any and all information relevant to determining eligibility for the benefit sought. 5. Could you please provide on update on staffing at the Atlanta Field Officer? How fully staffed is the office? Who are the supervisors? Currently the District Office is at 92% of its staffing allocation. It continues to be challenged in filing clerical positions, but is at a good level compared to where the office has been in the past. There have been a few internal promotions: Toni Head, Jacqueline Williams, Juanita Hicks, and Lisa Bradley are all supervisors now. All of these were internal promotions aside from Lisa Bradley, who came to Atlanta from the Miami Office of CIS. Also, there are now 3 Section Managers: Burn DeBoe for adjustment of status, Cheryl Johnson for naturalization, and Peter Tilley for the Customer Service Unit (CSU) and Records. He is responsible for overseeing customer service, the records room, InfoPass appointments, and AILA and congressional inquiries. 6. Could you please provide an update on the AILA-Liasion process? Who is in charge and how has the process changed since ISO Connie Roberts was reassigned? When will members start to see an increase in responses? The liaison process is a work in process. CIS recognizes that it had a bump in the road with the change in its liaison representative and has assigned two senior officers to eliminate backlog in

4 the inquiries received from AILA members. Members can also reach out to Peter Tilley, who is the Customer Service Unit Section Manager and oversees the liaison process. Paul Onyango, the Field Office Director, is also always available to answer questions. 7. Could you please discuss any changes at InfoPass and how to get a decision on a continued case on the spot? There have not been any changes to InfoPass. The District Office continues to monitor the availability of appointments and the process overall, and has noticed that it has a high rate of no shows for some reason, though it is unclear why this is. The office will continue to monitor InfoPass availability to make sure there are a sufficient number of appointments available for those wishing to come into the office. 8. Could you please discuss the District's policy regarding Parole in Place (documents needed, time-frame for decision)? The parole in place policy has not changed, and the process remains the same. The request is submitted through the field office, which then reviews the documents submitted and a recommendation is made to the District Director, who then makes the final decision. There is no particular timeframe but if there are urgent circumstances bring those forth and they will be taken into consideration. 9. Could you please update us on the security procedures in place - specifically the issue regarding shoes? The issue of security procedures is an ever evolving and moving issue. USCIS is working with its security guards about policies and attitudes of the guards, and will continue its dialogue with them. Also, customers can voluntarily take their shoes off. 10. Could you please discuss the new Naturalization policy regarding the review of the underlying adjustment case - should clients come prepared to discuss their marriages, for example? Review of the underlying adjustment of status is not a new policy. Officers have always had the authority to look back at the underlying adjustment, at any time, and doing so is not a new process. 11. Please share with the membership how important it is to address the situation in the moment - asking for a supervisor, for example. USCIS reminds AILA members that if an attorney has concerns during the interview, questions, or comments, please ask for a supervisor at the time of the interview. It s hard to address things after the fact so if an attorney sees that something isn t right, speak up and ask for a supervisor.

5 There s always at least one supervisor on duty and one on the floor. In addition, section managers and the Field Office Director can answer questions and concerns. Questions were then taken from the floor: Naturalization Procedures: Question: Will CIS go back to swearing in applicants on the same day as the interview? It is unlikely that the District Office will resume swearing-in applicants on the same day as the N-400 interview, aside from customers who come from Alabama or at least 4 hours away, who CIS makes every effort to swear in the same day due to the distance traveled for the interview. It is unable to do so for applicants who live closer to the local office because the room where oath ceremonies are conducted isn t large enough to accommodate the number of applicants being interviewed per day. Currently USCIS is having two ceremonies a day (in the morning and again in the afternoon) and is holding additional ceremonies on Fridays and at the National Archives. This has helped but it s not a perfect solution. USCIS also has to consider the quality review checks that must be done for each case before an applicant can be sworn in. It found that the quality review was too rushed when swearing in applicants the same day, so it continues to explore options for balancing the volume of cases, the desire of customers to be naturalized as soon as possible, and the agency s internal needs. Question: How should attorneys handle the situation of having two interviews scheduled for the same time? When checking in, the attorney should let the officer at the triage desk know that he or she has two interviews at the same time. Follow Up Question: An attorney reported having two interviews scheduled for the same time and the officer, after concluding the first interview, did not want to interview the second person. Director Frazier noted that officers get credit for each interview conducted, so it should not have mattered to the officer whether he or she interviewed the second person, or took another file from the queue. In any event, the Director will continue to ponder the best way to address this situation. She was inclined to say that it s best dealt with by letting the officer at the triage desk know, when checking in, but she will consider whether this is better addressed upstairs. Suggestions to USCIS: A member suggested that USCIS resume having a duty officer upstairs who was available to come down to the InfoPass area and adjudicate cases or resolve issues during an InfoPass appointment, noting that this was a very effective process. USCIS is trying to keep an officer at the InfoPass area who can facilitate the resolution of cases, where possible. That officer will take the case to the appropriate Section Supervisor, who will

6 then assign the case to the duty officer to adjudicate. USCIS is moving towards being able to provide a decision on cases that are ripe for adjudication or easily resolved during InfoPass appointments. Members reported that it is often difficult to hear the case number being called by officers for the next interview and suggested USCIS offer screens showing the number of the case being called, as it did at the MLK Building. Alternatively, perhaps an intercom system could be implemented. Director Frazier will take this suggestion back for further consideration and exploration.

Attorney Liaison USCIS West Palm Beach Meeting June 12, 2017

Attorney Liaison USCIS West Palm Beach Meeting June 12, 2017 1. Regarding current staff organization, would you please update the following chart regarding management and supervisory staff and their respective