Central Florida Chapter – Q & A Orlando USCIS Liaison Information (08/28/09)

Central Florida Chapter – Q & A Orlando USCIS Liaison Information (08/28/09)

August 28, 2009

USCIS/AILA Liaison Meeting

USCIS Field Office Orlando

Questions

Notes were taken by Matthew Farr, Secretary, AILA-CFC, and have been reviewed and approved by

Orlando USCIS.

Comments by Margaret Iglesias, Field Office Director, USCIS-ORL.

1. USCIS Orlando is now performing citizenship ceremonies every Friday, with about 100 new citizens

being sworn in per week.

2. The last convention center ceremony will be held on September 24th.

3. Once per month, a ceremony is being held at the Federal Courthouse, for those persons wishing to

change their name at their naturalization ceremony.

4. There is video of the Disney citizenship ceremony held last month posted on YouTube by attendees.

5. Open houses at USCIS Orlando will be held at least annually, and probably biannually.

6. USCIS Orlando is currently running out of cases in its queue; almost everything is less that six

months.

7. The economy is affecting USCIS. Adjustments are down 10%. Nat is way down. A 30% RIF is

coming at Biometrics.

8. No Show rate for interviews is about 1%.

9. Citizenship cases are turning around in three months.

10. If your client gets a fingerprint notice, client can usually go early and get worked into the schedule.

11. AOS Supervisor is CRISPINA CASTILLO. Pauline McGaghey is not a supervisor anymore.

QUESTION 1: GENERAL PROCEDURES

According to Tampa AILA members, USCIS Tampa will honor an Infopass appointment at any time on the

day of the appointment, regardless of the time on the Infopass appointment notice. Is the policy the same in

Orlando?

Please see the attached document titled “How to Request Assistance or a Case Update from the Tampa Field

Office: (FOR USE BY AILA ATTORNEYS ONLY), which details the inquiry process for Tampa USCIS.

Could a similar policy be considered in Orlando? Kathy Redman previously stated that she would like to see

consistency between all offices in the Sunshine District. Presently, the inquiry process is not consistent.

Tampa has a different setup than Orlando. In Orlando, Officers don’t work all day at the counter,

they also perform adjustment interviews and answer 1-800 calls. Although there is a goal of

consistency amongst the regional USCIS offices, only Tampa is set up to take Infopass

appointments at any time on the day of the appointment. As to the issue of attorneys having

multiple appointments on a given day, attorneys can now pick their appointment times, but each

appointment must be made separately. So, if an attorney has 3 cases to inquire on, should make3

separate appointments (can all be at same time however, but will need 3 print out confirmations).

Out-of-district visitors can make Infopass appointments, but the response may be limited if the

alien’s file is not in-house.

QUESTION 2.

RE: Are boilerplate responses to inquiries regarding an I-485 case filed in 2006 appropriate?

Questions

"Based on your request we researched the status of this case. We are actively processing this case. However,

we have to perform additional review on this case and this has caused a longer processing time. If you do not

receive a decision or other notice of action from us within 6 months of this letter, please call customer

service at the number provided below."

USCIS Orlando will continue to provide boilerplate answers. Boilerplate answers often indicate

that there is something going on behind the scenes that is unresolved, the details of which cannot

be divulged. In cases where boilerplate language is used USCIS headquarters mandates the

specific language; HQ does not want deviations from the standard.

QUESTION 3.

After an applicant receives an I-130/I-485 approval notice, the attorney would make an INFOPASS

appointment to get an I-551 stamp for the applicant while the production of the card is pending. Some

members have experienced the following: (1) Officers not issuing the stamp and telling the applicant that the

card is being produced; (2) Issuing the I-551 stamp for 30 days instead of one year and in most cases the card

is not received in 30 days and another INFOPASS appointment has to be made; and (3) Issuing the I-551

stamp for 3-6 months. Why is the I-551 stamp not being issued for one year, which is the default for the I-

551 stamp.

Cards are coming quickly, with Permanent Resident card production currently taking about three

weeks. USCIS Orlando can still issue I-551 stamp on an as-needed basis. Orlando USCIS will

also expedite on a case-by-case basis. I-551 stamps are normally issued for one year, but if there

are other issues that prevent a one-year stamp from being issued, such as removal proceedings,

stamp will normally reflect the hearing date.

QUESTION 4: ATTORNEY REPRESENTATION.

What is the best way to resolve cases where the local office denied “stale” rescheduled AOS cases for failure

to appear when the attorney immediately requested a reschedule because there was not enough time to meet

with the clients or to prepare them. Please note there was less than 5 days notice from the date of receipt of

the rescheduled appointments to the actual appointment.

There should be no appointments scheduled less than five days out. Normal time frame for

adjustments is about 30 days, for naturalizations 30-45 days. When an attorney has had a case for

some time, that attorney should be able to have a client ready within five days as the facts of the

case should be well known to the attorney and to the client. Where the attorney is new to a case,

USCIS Orlando will consider rescheduling on a case-by-case basis. Service Motions to Reopen

will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Requests need to be timely and may be submitted via

certified letter, email, or an Infopass appointment. There is no filing fee if USCIS is in error.

QUESTION 5.

Some DAOs call the client before the interview time and do not wait for the attorney. Then, the DAO tells

the client to come and waive the attorney's presence or get rescheduled. This is not fair if this occurs before the interview time. Please advise officers to at least wait for the interview time to pass before giving the

clients this option.

DAOs should not call clients in early, as they are usually behind. The only time that a client may

be called in early is for the 7:30 a.m. appointments. Clients will not be called until the actual time

of the appointment. If the attorney is not present at the scheduled time of the interview, then the

client will go in alone. Case will be denied if a client refuses to participate in the interview.

QUESTION 6: INTERVIEW PROCEDURES/RFES.

Members have the recurring concern of improving the system so that we can get decisions on the date of the

interview or at least within a reasonable time.

Decisions on the day of the interview will be given on a case-by-case basis. Any cases with arrest

files must go to a supervisor for review.

QUESTION 7.

Is there a set timeframe for responding to an RFE issued after an AOS interview? Some Officers give

applicants 30 days to respond and some officers give applicants 60-90 days. In some cases, a 30 days

timeline is unreasonable. Please comment.

If a NOID or RFE says we have thirty (35) days to respond, which is it? 30 or 35? If we use 35 and 30 was

intended, will there be a penalty?

The response time is normally 30 days plus three days for mail, giving 33 days. USCIS Orlando is

rounding this up to 35 days, or five seven-day weeks so the RFE response is due the same day of

the week that it was issued. Extensions will be granted on a case-by-case basis. Upon request, a

non-response to the request, e.g. silence, may considered to be an extension of 30 days. In

general, USCIS Orlando is only granting one extension, although further extensions may be

granted on a case-by-case basis for good cause.

QUESTION 8.

There seems to be a disconnect between mailroom receipt of documents at USCIS and actual delivery to the

relevant officer. Members report denials of cases due to abandonment when documents were received by

USCIS timely or denials due to interview no-show when correspondence was timely submitted (and

received) asking for reschedule on appropriate grounds. Of course, the solution is a Service Motion to

Reopen, but how can we prevent this from happening in the first place? These mistakes create more work for

all involved- including USCIS- and seem to be a more frequent problem. Also, once a Service Motion to

Reopen is received by USCIS for this type of situation, how long can we expect to wait for consideration?

These are critical because when cases are denied due to Service error, clients have no status. Files have been removed from Officers’ offices and returned to the file room in order to prevent

denials when RFE responses were timely filed but not properly inserted in the files. Clerks are

now filing RFE responses in the A files.

QUESTION 9.

A few members have complained that although Form G-28 was submitted and the attorney attended the AOS

interview, the officer is NOT cc: the attorney on RFE or other correspondences. We assume that is not

intentional, but how can we ensure that the officer does not exclude the attorney from the process or from

correspondences?

Previously Answered.

QUESTION 10: N400/N600 APPLICATIONS.

Good Moral Character for N-400 Applications - Please provide guidance on the following issue:

Will USCIS approve an application for Naturalization if the applicant has a conviction for a misdemeanor

committed within the previous five years, assuming the following facts?

a. The crime was a misdemeanor.

b. No jail time; only a fine.

c. Not a crime involving moral turpitude.

d. Not a removable offense.

e. No other evidence of bad moral character either before or during the statutory period.

Examples of offenses we are talking about include, but are not limited to:

• One DUI, with no aggravating circumstances, or

• Selling alcohol or tobacco to a minor, or

• Vagrancy or loitering, or

• Municipal or state licensing violations, or

• Careless or reckless driving, not causing damage to property or person, or

• Simple assault not causing physical harm, or

• Possession of a gambling device.

USCIS Orlando will not provide specific guidance without case specifics. Cases will be decided

on a case-by-case basis.

Where there has been a single petit crime conviction, it may still be possible to naturalize. Where

there is an indication that the individual has been arrested repeatedly without conviction,

discretionary denial is a possibility.

Client was convicted in 05 based on an offense committed in 03. Sentenced to 3 years' probation, but

terminated early for good behavior in 06. Regulation 8 CFR 316.10(c)(1) says that an applicant on probation during statutory period is not ineligible as long as it is completed, but the Service can consider this in the

GMC assessment. So my question is, how does Orlando view these cases?

A person who completes probation may be found to have good moral character.

QUESTION 11: NATURALIZATION.

Do all denials get reviewed by the SDAO in charge? How about when there is a question of law at issue that

the SDAO may not be familiar with, does the SDAO consult with the USCIS attorney on those issues?

Example: a person convicted for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, although a felony is not an

aggravated felony if the person did not serve more than 1 year imprisonment. Said conviction occurred

outside of the statutory 5 years. Person received cancellation of removal by the Immigration Judge, and

therefore would not have been granted such relief if he was an aggravated felon. Person denied

naturalization. What immediate course of action can the attorney take to get a review by the SDAO? Filing

an N-336 and paying the $605.00 does not seem fair in such case scenario when confronted with a gross

misapplication of the law.

Case specific. No discussion.

QUESTION 12: N-400 INTERVIEW.

Applicants for naturalization are told that if they answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly on the history and

government exam, they will pass.

However, it is well known that the same standard is not acceptable for the reading & writing test wherein

applicants have been denied their application for not reading and/or writing a word correctly, in spite that

INA 312 states that "the requirement to read and write shall be met if the applicant can read or write simple

words or phrases to the end that a REASONABLE test of his literacy shall be made and that no extraordinary

or unreasonable conditions shall be imposed upon the applicant".

Would you be willing to apply similar standards for the reading and writing test as is applied to the history &

govt. exam?

The citizenship exam is a literacy test, not a spelling test. The test is designed to target the second

grade level. The examiner wants to see the basics: reading, writing, government, U.S. history.

QUESTION 13.

Please clarify whether the N-600 are filed with your local office or the service center.

N-600s are filed locally. I-600s, while still filed locally, are moving to the service centers soon.

QUESTION 14: SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE QUESTIONS.

This past March a change in the law requires that all special immigrant juvenile self-petitions be adjudicated

within 180 days of filing with USCIS. This timeframe includes cases pending prior to the effective date of

the new law. However, adjudication of SIJ self-petitions are still taking much longer than 180 days. What

steps is Orlando USCIS taking to ensure that the Congressional mandated timeframe is met?

Currently, there is only one SIJ case pending. SIJs are categorized as fourth preference, and there

are currently no visas available. SIJ self-petitions are not being denied, but USCIS has to wait

until visas become available.