Questions and Discussion Topics. Vermont Service Center Stakeholder Conference. September 18, 2015

Transcription

1 Questions and Discussion Topics Vermont Service Center Stakeholder Conference September 18, 2015 These notes were taken by members of NAFSA s ISS-RP Regulatory Ombudsperson Subcommittee and have not been reviewed by the agency officials who participated in the Vermont Service Center Stakeholder Conference. These VSC Stakeholder Conference notes reflect information provided by government officials in an informal setting. Liaison notes and summaries are best used as general information concerning current agency processes and policies, and it is important to recognize that agency process and policies are subject to change. NAFSA notes and liaison summaries do not constitute legal advice. The Vermont Service Center (VSC) Stakeholder Conference was a general USCIS conference that addressed several topics of interests to its stakeholders, and didn t focus on one particular specialty. It was designed to give participants important updates on various processing at the VSC. Stakeholders were able to choose to attend from four topics at two breakout sessions in addition to attending an optional tour at the end of the day to see the facility. Below is a summary of the schedule: 1. Welcome/Opening Remarks 2. Sessions included Department of State, National Visa Center, Humanitarian Division VAWA/T/U, Customer Service/Student/Lockbox, Business Division H-1B/L visas, Family Division I-751 and I-130 petitions, Business Division O/P visas 3. Visitors also were able to attend an optional guided tour at the end of the day. The conference provided general information sessions and updates, and permitted stakeholders to ask non-case specific questions. Some VSC background information: The Vermont Service Center receives approximately 13,000 s each week. The service center always attends the national conference and will attend regional conferences if they can get there on the same day. USCIS is coordinating with ICE on the STEM OPT regulations and implementation vis-à-vis the Court order. They continue to process STEM OPT applications as usual. I-129F applications moved from VSC to CSC and the form is in a comment period. The I-130 is being worked on with updates coming soon to the form. VSC is aware of stakeholder concerns with the I-539 backlogs. The new VSC building in Essex, VT opened in spring VSC is now fully staffed and has implemented new adjudicator coaching with a ratio of one coach to two adjudicators. A fifth USCIS Service Center has opened in Arlington, Virginia (Potomac Service Center). VSC has seen a 30% increase in H extensions this year. The following notes were taken throughout the various sessions: Customer Service/Student/Lockbox session:

2 In regard to training procedures: There is a focus on coaching and VSC has a two-to-one trainer to officer ratio. Supervisors talk them through handling cases. Regarding I-539 processing delays- especially student and visitors. USCIS recognizes the impact on students and institutions due to delays. I-765 student surge: There is a ninety day processing window, so these must be done within that time. 58,000 OPT cases starting in March There was an I-765 H-4 EAD surge as well. VSC is cross-training officers in I-765s and I-539s. Questions that come in through the VSC account: Assistants answer more common questions (e.g. change of address) while officers handle more complex messages. Filing tips Black signature on forms is fine. Everything must be signed. Checks signed and dated. The 30 day filing requirement from the date the recommendation is entered into SEVIS is not adjustable. Proper photos passport style is crucial. A Request for Evidence (RFE) for photos can delay applications by several months as they must be rescanned and reprocessed. Applications are sent to the lockbox, and not to VSC directly. This can delay applications for four to five days and with 30 day filing window can be an issue. Don't send anything extra unless asked for it sending more mail slows down processing. RFE protocol: The first mage must be the RFE. It must be on top for the mail room. If you don t have it on top, VSC may not realize it is an RFE response and it can be delayed going to that file. I-539 processing times: Incorrectly posted processing times in the summer caused challenges. It is correct now. I-765 e-filing has been discontinued. There is now only paper-based. VSC recommends advisors make students aware warn students as they don't have e-filing to lock in a date with applications close to the grace period. Lockbox information Dallas, Chicago, or Phoenix are the lockboxes. Lockbox takes approximately 48 hours to go through their process. Tips: Replace pages if there are errors. Do not use white out or cross out on form. Don't use highlighters. lockboxsupport@dhs.gov with questions about the lockboxes. Tabs can't go thru scanner, paper only. Do not use dividers. Don't double side print, please. Questions and Answers: Q. Can schools use attachments rather than mailing in documents if something else needs to be added to a pending case? A. With the exception of withdrawal request, which must come from the applicant, yes, schools may attachments in on pending cases. Q. Is the expedite request process/are the criteria still the same? A. Yes. In general, an expedite will not be granted for the case where a student may lose funding, but is more likely for humanitarian reasons. Q. Schools have reported that applications with I-912 fee waivers are being returned from the lockbox, requesting processing fees. Has the process changed?

3 A. Such applications should be fine no matter what the order of the documents is when they are submitted to the lockbox. Q. Can STEM OPT be filed earlier than 120 days? A. It will not get rejected if it is filed earlier. Q. Should the student submit copies of all I-20s with an OPT application? A. Yes, copies of all I-20s are requested. Q. If a student applied for OPT at a previous school but did not use the EAD, can that student recover any of that unused OPT time? A. A student may not recover unused time on OPT if the request to cancel the OPT is not submitted to VSC prior to the EAD issuance. Per one of the panelists, transfer of a SEVIS record is now not cancelling prior OPT in SEVIS. Q. Can a student who has a reinstatement application pending file for OPT without a recommendation in SEVIS/on the I-20? A. For students with a reinstatement application pending, they can file for OPT without the recommendation, but will need to submit clarification that the reinstatement is pending, and include a letter from the DSO that clearly explains this. The case will be denied if it is filed without an I-20 with no explanation included. Business Division H-1B/L visas Session There are 161 officers in the business division. There is also a surge division which is a cross-functional division that helps to work with surges, i.e. H-1B cap cases, TPS, etc. It takes time to train the new staff members on the complicated issues in H and L. VSC and CSC both receive cap cases. Currently VSC is days away from completing the initial touch on all H-1B cases. However, there are some that still require security checks. The vast majority are completed. They are working on mid-late May H-1B extension cases. There is a 240 day benchmark and they are working to not go over the 240 day benchmark. There is a large increase in H-1B extension cases, largely part due to SIMEO decision. They are behind on Os and Ps. VSC was asked if some cases are ever given to other SCs when VSC is too backed up. The short-term answer is that some cases could be sent to CSC, but there are no long-term answers at this point. The surge team is one option for a resolution. There is also additional training to do more Ls. There are staff enough on the H-1B side but not enough on the L side. When there are backlogs, there are more calls, more s, and more inquiries from Congressional officers. This furthers the backlogs because these inquiries need to be addressed. Training process: 1-2 weeks of training on H or L. Each new employee is assigned a mentor. Once a trainee is deemed proficient in caseload he/she still has work approved by supervisor. There is a coach that will discuss the case asking the whys of the decision not just that the decision was made. Now there is a lot more back and forth with the coach instead of the mentor-mentee arrangement. There is a lot of guidance in the memos, etc. to determine the outcome of the case. Expedites: There are seven factors for I-129 Premium Processing, which can be found on the USCIS website. With an expedite request is the urgency described commensurate with the actual urgency and does it suggest that the request should be pushed ahead of others? VSC asks stakeholders to be judicious with expedite requests. Humanitarian needs take precedence, for example. Make sure the urgency for the expedite is true so that others are not set back unnecessarily. Non-profits can expedite through SRMT line. H-1B cap lottery process: All cases come in to two Service Centers. All cases receive a number Master s cap and regular cap.

4 All numbers given to headquarters and the lottery is taken place. Cases are then pulled. Doesn t matter if cases are properly filed or not at that point. Then cases are either rejected or accepted based on proper filing. Then the others are addressed the cases that did not receive a winning lottery number. VSC notes that there was a Consular issue with I-612 Waivers. VSC worked closely with DOS to resolve this issue. PIMS: PIMS is not a USCIS system. When people file I-129 with CSC, a second copy of petition is sent to the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) and there it is entered into PIMS within 72 hours. (The audience notes that the reality is days.) When VSC sends RFE, VSC asks petitioner to send two copies of evidence because one of the copies will go to the KCC. If the KCC doesn t have the other copy because no copy was given, there will be a problem abroad because the 2 nd copy will not go into PIMS. No copy will be sent to the KCC by VSC. Fax in a 2 nd copy of evidence, indicating that this is a duplicate copy to be sent to KCC. 2 nd copy should include everything that is in response to VSC. VSC is exploring ways to make this process more efficient. Q. Could VSC explain how the information is sent to KCC from VSC? A. VSC approves case and then the documents are sent to KCC within 1-2 days. The travel time is approximate. Send priority or standard mail, which will take a few days to a week (Os, Ps are priority go overnight and other cases go standard mail). The KCC has 72 hours to put it in. The KCC can also reach out to the Service Center if something is missing. Consular Returns: The case comes back to USCIS from Consular Office abroad. These cases first go back to the KCC and then the KCC decides whether or not to send it back to VSC or resend back to Consular Affairs to take a look at again. Diplomatic mailing takes longer, which can delay the process. Processing time for returns is 6 months. Os and Ps get distributed fastest. When reviewed at VSC, two officers will look at the Consular memo and the case itself. This takes time to pull the file and also to go through the memo and the evidence. VSC sends out a notice to the petitioner when they receive the return from Consular Affairs. That marks the start of the 6 month wait period. Motions to Reopen/Reconsider processing: The motion is matched up with case that is setting on a shelf. It s an approximately 45 day processing period. A receipt number is issued based on the Motion. H-4 EADS: These are being processed at VSC. Processing times of initial H-4 EADs are filed concurrent to when the H-1B is filed. The others are processed with the Customer Service division. Q. From the first touch of a case, how long are officers typically reviewing a case? A. The time varies based on the level of experience of the officer reviewing it. In general, it takes at least an hour to adjudicate an H-1B. Whether the officer is working on-site or at home does not make a difference in the length of time for processing the case. Q. How are officers evaluated? A. There are five core competencies upon which the officers are review. These are not based on the number of cases they do, but the quality and efficiency of the work that they do. Premium Processing: VSC recommends not responding in two ways to a Premium Processing case i.e. do not fax AND send docs via mail. Either send the response via fax OR send via mail. Otherwise the case will be delayed. Remember that if you send a response via fax, the highlights on your document will not be seen. You should circle the important pieces of information on your response and not highlight in that case. Anti-Fraud Fee: The anti-fraud fee only has to be paid once if the beneficiary is staying with the same employer. This fee is tied to the employer. This is further explained on the H-1B supplement. VSC advises petitioners to be obvious and write out that this has already been paid.

5 Business Division O/P visas Session Processing times: VSC is currently working on cases received on 7/9. VSC is not meeting the timeline and they are aware of it. This is due, in part, to the attrition rate of staff and training of new staff. There was a 19% increase of receipts in June, more in July and August along with high level of premium processing requests and this is why they are behind in O and P cases. Q. For premium processing cases outside of 14 days, should VSC be contacted? A. VSC knows very well that the cases are outside of processing times. If the case is outside the processing time listed on the website, then contact VSC. Different strategies are being discussed to alleviate this problem. They will perhaps take a look at Service Center workload across the board. VSC gets a large percentage of the O and P workload. Q. Should there be a better distribution of receipts across the Service Centers? VSC notes that this is being looked at as a solution. For a short-term solution, they are moving some of the backlogged cases to CSC. Training on preponderance of the evidence: Senior officers met with O & P officers and looked at borderline cases. Discussion were very helpful for officers in training, and VSC plans to do more roundtable trainings like this in the future. Deference memo discussion: The memo says if you have established facts, you do not need to be revisiting these facts at each extension of Os. They have talked to officers about this for when they are adjudicating, and reinforced with officers when a Request for Evidence (RFE) should be issued and when it should not for extensions, and to be clear about the reasons for the RFE. Filing tips from VSC: Provide cover letter with table of contents Have the name of the applicant consistent. If not the same name explain those differences Lay out the argument that the beneficiary is eligible If someone is coming from Canada but is not Canadian, do not give them PFI or POE. When filing an extension, VSC can request full body of evidence. Often times they will request it, so send it anyway. Be consistent as to which classification of O you are seeking. Sometimes they see O-1A and O-1B in the same application. Contract and Petition must have the same start date. This can result in an RFE. Make sure contract is legible. Sometimes it gets difficult to read with the faxing back and forth. Other tips/information: VSC has regular monthly roundtables with CSC and headquarters. Be targeted with your application, instead of stating that the beneficiary is all over the board. VSC will adjudicate the way it is presented. It is how you present the case so it is case by case. There is a steering committee within VSC working on a sports clinic, which will raise certain terms about sports, to put sports in layman terms so that officers can be better adjudicators. I.e. if an adjudicator does not know tennis, they can turn to this committee to familiarize the adjudicator with the sport in question. Social media is becoming more prevalent when adjudicating. It is a piece of the adjudication so it does go into the evaluation but isn t typically a huge part of the adjudication. Social media is not to be ignored however. It is not in-and-of-itself enough. Need independent evidence in addition to the support of social media. Premium processing is being used not only for the 15 day processing time, but stakeholders are saying that they use it more for the customer service they will receive when using premium processing. Responsiveness and service is much better via premium processing. Q. When submitting an application, can a prepaid mailer be used for rejections? A. No. Only for decisional notices and not rejects.

6 Q. If a second O is submitted after a denial will it be reviewed by a different adjudicator the second time? A. Not necessarily. Q. What is looked for in the letters of recommendation (particularly in creative fields)? A. This is not required; it is optional. The adjudicator must know how the person attesting to the person s abilities knows the person. VSC is looking for the why this person is O-1 caliber and how the recommender knows this person, as well as what the recommender is in terms of expertise in the field. (I.e. what achievements does the author have?) National Visa Center (NVC): The NVC centralizes immigrant visa processing. There is a huge infrastructure at overseas posts. NVC centralizes began in There is an administrative and a clerical function. NVC saves consulates processing time, from data entry to collecting documents to scheduling interviews. There are nine federal employees and 659 contractors. NVC handles petition types I-130, I-140, I-730 and K. In Fiscal Year 14, NVC handled: 709,000 petitions from USCIS 170,0000 inquiries responded to-600,000 public calls 2.6 million cases 7000 calls per day. Goal is per day. VSC Contact Information: Mailing: Vermont Service Center 75 Lower Welden Street St. Albans, VT Student Issues: vsc.schools@uscis.dhs.gov (I-539s) VSC.StudentEAD@uscis.dhs.gov (I-765s) Premium Processing Unit: vsc-premium.processing@uscis.dhs.gov Congressional Unit: vsc.congressional@uscis.dhs.gov Humanitarian Unit: hotlinefollowup1360.vsc@uscis.dhs.gov hotlinefollowup vsc@uscis.dhs.gov Main Line: (802) Congressional Unit: (802)

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