News Update - September 13, 2007USCIS Ombudsman Reports Continuing Troubles Plaguing the AgencyThe USCIS Ombudsman position was created in 2002 to provide assistance
to individuals and employers in resolving problems with USCIS. The
Ombudsman is mandated to make an annual report. In the report for
the year June 1, 2006 to May 31, 2007, the Ombudsman found that
while there has been some progress, customers continue to face lengthy
delays in processing and information on processing has not been
transparent. Customer service may be quicker in some instances but
access to officers with knowledge of a case is limited and information
given to customers is limited and questionable in its accuracy.
The Ombudsman also found inefficiencies and redundancies as well
as delays in updating records. For the report and Ombudsman’s
recommendations you may visit www.DHS.gov. † The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. ‡ This article © 2007 Alan Lee, Esq.
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Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee,
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