USA Green Card Immigration Blog

Twenty-two sailors took the Oath of Allegiance and became America’s newest U.S. Citizens during a special naturalization ceremony aboard the Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington on October 9, 2010. The Deputy Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Bangkok District Office, Stacy Strong, take a trip out to sea to preside over the naturalization ceremony and to conduct immigration training to the ship’s legal staff and crew.

Deputy Director Strong was also accompanied by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Overseas Adjudication Officer, Gary Remmel. Two days prior to the naturalization ceremony, the officials of the U.S. Immigration Services boarded the ship for interviewing the citizenship candidates.

These steps taken by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to accelerate the naturalization process for the members of the military has generated interest among other sailors on board in initiating the citizenship process. In addition to interviewing the citizenship candidates, the officials also conducted the naturalization test and coordinated with the other sailors to help them start the citizenship process.

Deputy Director Strong affirmed that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services through its extensive outreach ensures that the members of America’s armed forces are well-informed about the immigration services and benefits. She also stated that the USCIS was dedicated to extending support to all sailors on land and at sea.

The 22 new citizens are originally from the following countries: China, Colombia, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, and Thailand. During the past calendar year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials from the Bangkok District Office have conducted naturalization ceremony for members and their families hailing from several foreign countries. Many such naturalization ceremonies were witnessed on board navy ships.

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Recently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made an announcement that it will host open houses all over the country. Community stakeholders and the public from around the country will be invited to participate in the open house program. These open houses have been hosted to provide the attendees with information on the agency’s programs. The agency believes that its partnership with stakeholders will be strengthened through these open houses.

During the announcement made on the open houses, Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director mentioned that USCIS offices have been opened to reveal the transparency in their immigration services to the general public.

Through this program the attendees will not only be able to meet the USCIS staff, but will also be able to watch mock naturalization interviews live. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services invited entries for the National Children’s Art Project based upon the theme “We Are America.” As part of the open house, children’s artworks that were received by the agency have also been displayed in the field offices.

The open house series was commenced by USCIS Director, Alejandro Mayorkas on October 4, 2010 at the USCIS Baltimore Field Office. On November 3, 2010, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services hosted open house at the Chicago District Office as part of the open house series. The open house was attended by the fifth graders of Louis Pasteur Elementary School. A competitive game on U.S. history and civics was conducted for the children by the agency. The game was followed by the citizenship ceremony of nearly 50 citizens.

USCIS will continue to host open houses until November 19, 2010 at 32 field offices, including Fresno, Las Vegas, New York city, Honolulu, Denver, Buffalo, EI Paso, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Cleveland, Portland, and Charlotte. The agency will end the open house series at its field office in San Juan Field on November 19, 2010.

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Recently, two precedent decisions made by the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) have been issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS.) These two decisions will serve as binding precedents for the future cases that are dealt by USCIS. Apart from guiding the USCIS adjudicators, these two precedent decisions will also aid in providing predictability to the general public. Usually, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) collaborates with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to arrive at the AAO precedent decisions.

During the proclamation, Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director, stated that USCIS’ commitment to adherence to the immigration laws is evident from the issuance of the two precedent decisions. He also expressed his gratitude for the cooperation of the Justice Department in promoting the immigration cases’ predictability. He added that USCIS will works towards issuing more precedent decisions.

The DHS in concurrence with the Attorney General makes the AAO precedent decisions to serve as a basis to decide future cases of similar issues. All DHS personnel will then incorporate the Administrative Appeals Office decisions in implementing the immigration laws after they are issued by the Department of Justice. The AAO decisions are published in the “Administrative Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States.” The DOJ’s Board of Immigration Appeals’ precedent decisions will also be published in this bound volume.

The first Administrative Appeals Office decision confirms that USCIS may deny an application to adjust status to permanent residence. In case, the employment-based petition has to remain valid for a new job, the petition must be valid initially. The second decision can reverse USCIS’ denial for an employment-based petition to safeguard permanent residence for naturalization purposes.

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Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director, made an announcement about the issuance of new, redesigned Form N-550 (Certificate of Naturalization.) The new Form N-550 incorporates enhanced security features to minimize the instances of immigration fraud. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started issuing the improved Form N-550 and expects to issue them to around 600,000 new citizens of the United States by next year.

During the launch of the redesigned naturalization certificate, Director Mayorkas assured that the production process of the new certificates will be fully automated by the end of this calendar year. By doing so, the consistency of the naturalization certificates will be increased apart reduction in the time taken to prepare the certificates. He also mentioned that the automated production process will be employed first at the USCIS offices in Denver, Atlanta, and Baltimore. The other USCIS offices will implement the automated production process within a period of 60 days.

The first redesigned naturalization certificates were distributed to the new citizens by Director Mayorkas at the USCIS Baltimore District Office. During this special naturalization ceremony, he stated that USCIS’ efforts in reducing immigration fraudulent practices will be further enhanced by this new Form N-550.

Enhancements in the Redesigned Naturalization Certificate

•The redesigned Form N-550 has a digitized photo of the candidate along with his/her signature embedded in it.

•The certificate also has color-shifting ink pattern background making it nearly impossible to replicate.

•Further, tamper-resistant technology is being used in the printing process ensuring that the naturalization certificates are tamper-proof.

•The latest physical security features have been incorporated into the new enhanced certificate and thus the chances of immigration fraud are reduced.

•Since the production process of certificates is automated, the certificated are more secured and there is a very minimal risk of human error.

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On October 14, 2010, a new field office was opened by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Holtsville, Long Island. The grand opening was commemorated by a ribbon cutting ceremony, which was presided over by the Director of USCIS, Alejandro Mayorkas along with Andrea Quarantillo, USCIS New York District Director, and Charles Akalski, the new Holtsville Field Office Director.

Director Mayorkas expressed his pride in opening the new USCIS field office in Holtsville. He also stated that USCIS is working hard towards offering an excellent customer service by providing accessible locations all over the country.

Following Director Mayorkas, Andrea Quarantillo, USCIS District Director mentioned that the USCIS customers in Suffolk, Nassau, and Queens Counties need not travel to other USCIS field offices anymore for fingerprinting and other immigration services, thanks to the new Holtsville office.

The location of the new USCIS office was chosen on the basis of its accessibility to all major traffic routes. The new USCIS field office is fully equipped and can serve up to 400 USCIS customers from Suffolk, Nassau, and Queens Counties per day. This new 47,000 square foot field office has been opened by USCIS to provide its customers with customer-friendly, easily accessible, and more efficient offices. In the past three years, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has opened its field offices in many other states across the country, including Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Michigan, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Colorado, and New Hampshire.

USCIS customers can now fix up appointments with Immigration Services Officers through the InfoPass customer service tool that the new field office offers. Further, the new office also has a large waiting area, a special room for hosting naturalization ceremonies, as well as rooms to carry out immigration interviews. Around 100 federal and contract employees who previously worked for the USCIS’ field office in Garden City have been assigned as staff for this new field office.

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A special United States naturalization ceremony was held at the Kandahar Airfield on Oct1, 2010. Such a special event has been witnessed for the first time, since the U.S. military forces have been deployed to Afghanistan to support combat operations. The members who took the Oath of Allegiance and became citizens of the United States comprise of about 88 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines from 37 countries.

A three-member team from the Bangkok District office of U.S. Citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) took a trip all the way to Kandahar to complete the naturalization process. By bringing the immigration services to Kandahar, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has demonstrated its commitment to the troops who are currently serving in the military. The United States naturalization ceremony was held close to the battlefields where the U.S. military forces were serving.

The Deputy Director of USCIS Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate, Steve Bucher, accompanied the three officers to Kandahar to preside over the ceremony. During the interaction with citizenship candidates, he stated that it demanded greater coordination with USCIS offices in the United States to complete the United States naturalization process.

The coordination efforts for the completion of United States naturalization also included gathering the service members to Kandahar to complete the naturalization test as well as recite the Oath of Allegiance to the United States.

Since the commencement of the overseas naturalization program in 2004, 583 members of the U.S. military deployed in Afghanistan have been naturalized by U.S. Citizenship and immigration services. USCIS will keep up with the trend and continue to provide immigration services to America’s armed forces and their families posted at military installations across the United States and abroad.

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On Sept. 17, 2010, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) celebrated the Constitution day and Citizenship day. In commemoration of the day, USCIS hosted 63 special ceremonies during which more than 9,000 candidates were granted USA citizenship. USCIS collaborated with the National Park Service (NPS) and hosted special naturalization ceremonies from Sept. 13, 2010 until Sept. 24, 2010. The naturalization ceremonies were held in 22 national park sites based around the theme, “Embrace Citizenship-Experience America Through Your National Parks.”

Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director stated that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services celebrates the Constitution and Citizenship Day every year in commemoration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. He further added that, although U.S. citizens are diverse in their individual backgrounds, they are brought together by their respect for the Constitution.

As part of the Constitution and Citizenship Day commemoration, USCIS welcomed 25 new citizens at the foot of the General Grant’s Tree on Sept. 15, 2010. This tree is the largest giant sequoia in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park in Three Rivers, California. This ceremony was followed by the naturalization of 60 citizens at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, Mo on Sept. 17, 2010. Another highlight of this Constitution and Citizenship Day commemoration is the cornerstone ceremony that was hosted by USCIS at the Lincoln Memorial on Sept. 22, 2010.

In addition to these ceremonies, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services also held several other national parks ceremonies. Several other locations where USCIS held these special ceremonies include Grand Canyon, Homestead National Monument, the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in Lowa, the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Mo., the historic Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Angel Island State Park in the middle of San Francisco Bay.

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Around 55 noncitizen members of the U.S. armed forces and 17 military spouses have been recently naturalized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), making up to a total of 196 military members this year. The naturalization ceremony was held at the Yongsan U.S. Army Garrison, Seoul, South Korea. Since 2004, when the overseas naturalization process was founded, this is the first time that nearly 196 members of the military members have been naturalized in the Republic of Korea. Thus, this naturalization ceremony is considered a milestone in the history of USCIS.

Prior to the administration of the Oath of Allegiance, Robert Looney, USCIS Bangkok District Director made a statement that this accomplishment was solely due to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ efforts to travel to various locations all over South Korea and organize the naturalization process of U.S. military members. Nearly 961 U.S. military members and 134 military spouses have been naturalized by USCIS in the Republic of Korea since the year 2004.

Following Robert Looney, Kathleen Stephens, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea addressed the new U.S. citizens. She stated that, although the new citizens vary in their nationality and backgrounds, they have been united by their act of service, which has enabled them to receive USA citizenship. She also reminded them that along with USA citizenship comes the responsibility of serving and protecting the United States.

She also quoted an incident stating the achievement of a family, which originated in Nigeria. She revealed that last year, the Nigerian woman was naturalized in South Korea for her service in the Army, followed by her daughter who was naturalized on the basis that she is a military dependent child. This year, the spouse has also received USA citizenship in South Korea.

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The final fee rule for processing immigration petitions has recently been announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS.) On June 11, 2010, USCIS published the proposed rule in the Federal Register. The final rule has been announced after taking into account the 225 comments received from stakeholders on the proposed rule.

As per the final rule, the overall processing fees for immigration petitions will be increased by an average of about 10 percent. The increase in fees does not apply for the naturalization applications. The adjusted fees will be effective from November 23, 2010.

Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director expressed his gratitude to the public who submitted their comments on the proposed rule. He also added that USCIS will work towards enhancing the services that they provide.

The final fee rule includes the following three new fees.

• . Regional center designation fee under the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program

• . Civil surgeon designation fee

• . A fee to cover the costs borne by USCIS in the processing of immigration petitions

Further, processing fees for service members and for a few experienced members of the U.S. armed forces have been reduced and eliminated. USCIS has also expanded the availability of fee waivers for certain USCIS forms.

USCIS is obliged to carry out fee reviews once in two years. The fee review is done in order to arrive at the funding levels required for processing of immigration petitions, for managing the nation’s immigration laws, and to set up the infrastructure that is convenient for those activities.

The fee revenue in financial years 2008 and 2009 was lower than it was planned and it continues to be low in financial year 2010. Although USCIS reduced its budgeted expenditures by about $160 million, the gap that existed between costs and expected revenue was not bridged. Thus, the final fee rule is expected to recover the operations cost and also meet the application processing goals that was determined in the 2007 fee rule.

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Quite recently, a joint statement has been made by the Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that the adjudication of new adoption cases in Nepal will be suspended. This joint statement has been made in view of protecting the rights and interests of U.S. adoptive parents and a few Nepali children and their families.

The joint statement revealed the following:

In order to review many Nepali abandonment cases, the Department of State interacted with the Government of Nepal recently. As a part of the interaction, the Department of State visited the police departments and orphanages. From the interaction made, the Department of State was able to conclude that the documents that were submitted as an evidence to demonstrate the abandonment of Nepali children were not reliable.

Civil documents, including the abandoned child’s birth certificate was found to contain fake information. Due to the unavailability of officials who were actually responsible to investigate the abandonment cases, the inquiry was often held back. Consular officers, who compare the orphanage and the police records to verify if the information provided is accurate, do not get cooperation from the orphanage and police officials.

It was also mentioned that the acceptance of new Nepali adoption petitions have been stopped by all the countries that had previously been processing the adoption cases. It is because they believe that the Nepali adoption cases are ineligible for intercountry adoption.

Commencing Aug 6, 2010, the suspension of processing of Nepali adoption petitions will be effective. Adoption petitions that were matched with a U.S. adoptive parent before the announcement was made will still be processed on a case-by-case basis, provided there is proper evidence available. The adoptive parents will be reached by the Department of State if they are found to meet the criteria. USCIS will make every effort possible to accelerate the processing of reliable and eligible adoption petitions.