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Denaturalization Task Force to be Established by USCIS

7/23/2018

The USCIS plans to establish an office in Los Angeles, California to focus on denaturalization. The office will take away U.S. citizenship from certain naturalized American citizens.

USCIS will look for cases where it believes a person obtained U.S. citizenship by error, fraud, mistake , using false name or identity - and will refer potential denaturalization cases to the US Department of Justice.

The USCIS couldn't assure compliance with the law because old paper-based records containing fingerprint information from the FBI and DHS can’t be searched electronically. All old paper-only records need to be digitized bfore they can be searched electronically.

In 2008, USCIS identified 206 people who used different names or other biographical information to gain US citizenship or other immigration benefits. This was possible because ICE did not consistently add digital fingerprint records of immigrants whom agents encountered until 2010.

On September 18, 2016, the DHS Office of the Inspector General issued a report entitled Potentially Ineligible Individuals Have Been Granted U.S. Citizenship Because of Incomplete Fingerprint Records.

The report found that that "USCIS granted U.S. citizenship to at least 858 individuals ordered deported or removed under another identity when, during the naturalization process, their digital fingerprint records were not available."Overall, the report found that fingerprint records were missing from hundreds of thousands of cases.

In June 2018, USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna told in an interview that USCIS is hiring several dozen lawyers and immigration officers to review cases of immigrants who were ordered deported and are suspected of using fake identities to later get green cards and citizenship through naturalization.Cissna said the cases would be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice, whose attorneys could then seek to remove the immigrants' citizenship in civil court proceedings. In some cases, government attorneys could bring criminal charges related to fraud.

Until now, the agency has pursued cases as they arose but not through a coordinated effort. It is expected that USCIS new denaturalization office Los Angeles will be running by next year but investigating and referring cases for prosecution will likely take longer.

More about denaturalization effort here.

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USCIS Will Deny Applications Without First Issuing a RFE or NOID

7/13/2018

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On July 13, 2018, Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a new policy memorandum that provides guidance to USCIS adjudicators regarding their discretion to deny an application, petition, or request without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) when required initial evidence was not submitted or the evidence of record fails to establish eligibility.

This updated guidance is effective September 11, 2018 and applies to all applications, petitions, and requests, except for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) adjudications, received after that date. Due to preliminary injunctions issued by courts in California and New York, this new guidance does not change the RFE and NOID policies and practices that apply to the adjudication of DACA requests.

The earlier 2013 memorandum addressed policies for the issuance of RFEs and NOIDs when the evidence submitted at the time of filing did not establish eligibility. In practice, the 2013 guidance limited denials without RFEs or NOIDs to statutory denials by providing that RFEs should be issued unless there was “no possibility” of approval. This “no possibility” policy limited the application of an adjudicator’s discretion.

New July 13, 2018 policy implemented in this guidance restores to the adjudicator full discretion to deny applications, petitions, and requests without first issuing an RFE or a NOID. This policy is intended to discourage frivolous or substantially incomplete filings used as “placeholder” filings and encourage applicants, petitioners, and requestors to be diligent in collecting and submitting required evidence.

If all required initial evidence is not submitted with the benefit request, USCIS, in its discretion, may deny the benefit request for failure to establish eligibility based on lack of required initial evidence. Examples of filings that may be denied without sending an RFE or NOID include, but are not limited to: I-601 and I-601A waiver applications submitted without supporting evidence; or cases where the law requires the submission of an official document or other form of evidence establishing eligibility at the time of filing and there is no such submission (e.g., a properly completed and supported by evidence Affidavit of Support (Form I-864), when applying for adjustment of status (Form I-485).

This 07/13/2018 policy guidance updates Chapters 10.5(a) and 10.5(b) of the USCIS Adjudicator’s Field Manual and contains an “additional considerations” section. The policy in this “additional considerations” section is not new, and is nearly identical to the policy contained in the superseded 2013 memorandum.

After September 11, 2018, the effective date of the new policy, applicants and petitioners should be aware that when submitting a self-prepared incomplete or defective application, which is missing required documents, initial evidence, signatures, forms, properly prepared affidavit of support -- they are risking not merely a "rejection", where a complete application packet is mailed back with the filing fee check and all supporting documents, or a RFE, but a proper "denial" of their application, which results in losing of the filing fees, copies of the documents, and the official denial letter may provide brief and generic explanation of the reasons for denial.

After 09/11/2018, USCIS officers are given discretion to deny applications without first sending to an applicant a RFE (request for evidence) or NOID (notice of intent to deny) and giving the applicant an opportunity to correct the deficiencies of the application package.

This policy intervenes with another recent USCIS policy memorandum, dated June 28, 2018, which instructed USCIS officers to issue NTAs to refer applicants to immigration court for removal or deportation after denying their application, if an applicant is out of status on the date of denial.

The USCIS officer will deny the application, check if an applicant maintains his lawful nonimmigrant status, and if not, will issue a NTA and refer them for deportation (removal) to immigration court.

Briefly in Russian:

USCIS иммиграционная служба США недавно опубликовала два новых меморандума, и объявила о намерении ужесточить правила.

(1) Теперь офицеры USCIS будут иметь право отказывать по заявлениям БЕЗ предварительного запроса дополнительных документов и доказательств (RFE request for evidence or NOID notice of intent to deny).
Суть этих запросов в том, что если заявитель забыл послать какие-то копии или документы, он имел возможность позже дослать эти документы по запросу.

(2) После отказа теперь офицеры смогут сами без участия ICE передавать отказанные дела на депортацию в иммиграционный суд, если заявитель на момент отказа находится без легального статуса. Сами сотрудники USCIS будут выписывать повестку в суд на депортацию, NTA or notice to appear.

Это может коснуться и студентов, и лиц на рабочих визах, и даже тех кто подает на грин карту через брак и родителей американских граждан.
Таким образом USCIS cобираются экономить время на рассмотрении заявлений с отсутствующими необходимыми документами, или с недостаточным аффидевитом о материальной поддержке. После отказа, дело направляется в иммиграционный суд, и покидает юрисдикцию USCIS.

Ожидается, что новые правила по отказам вступят в силу с 11 сентября 2018, но такие отказы могут участиться и до этой даты.

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NTA Notice to Appear New Procedures: More People Will Be Referred for Removal to Immigration Court

7/9/2018

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On June 28, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated guidance that aligns its policy for issuing Form I-862, Notice to Appear, with the immigration enforcement priorities of the Department of Homeland Security.

A Notice to Appear (NTA) is a document given to a foreign national that instructs them to appear before an immigration judge on a certain date.

The issuance of an NTA commences removal proceedings against the foreign national. Under the new guidance, USCIS officers will now issue an NTA for a wider range of cases where the individual is removable and there is evidence of fraud, criminal activity, or where an applicant is denied an immigration benefit and is unlawfully present in the United States.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and requestors are exempted from this updated guidance when: (1) processing an initial or renewal DACA request or DACA-related benefit request; or (2) processing a DACA recipient for possible termination of DACA. As explained in the concurrently issued DACA-specific guidance, USCIS will continue to apply the 2011 NTA guidance to these cases. USCIS will also continue to follow the existing DACA information-sharing policy regarding any information provided by a DACA requestor in a DACA request or DACA-related benefit request.

USCIS, along with ICE and CBP, has legal authority under current immigration laws to issue NTAs. New USCIS Policy Memorandum updates the guidelines USCIS officers use to determine when to refer a case to ICE or to issue an NTA.

The revised policy generally requires USCIS to issue an NTA in the following categories of cases in which the individual is removable:

Cases where fraud or misrepresentation is substantiated, and/or where an applicant abused any program related to the receipt of public benefits. USCIS will issue an NTA even if the case is denied for reasons other than fraud.
Criminal cases where an applicant is convicted of or charged with a criminal offense, or has committed acts that are chargeable as a criminal offense, even if the criminal conduct was not the basis for the denial or the ground of removability. USCIS may refer cases involving serious criminal activity to ICE before adjudication of an immigration benefit request pending before USCIS without issuing an NTA.
Cases in which USCIS denies a Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, on good moral character grounds because of a criminal offense.
Cases in which, upon the denial of an application or petition, an applicant is unlawfully present in the United States.

The revised policy does not change the USCIS policy for issuing an NTA in the following categories:

Cases involving national security concerns;
Cases where issuing an NTA is required by statute or regulation;
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) cases, except where, after applying TPS regulatory provisions, a TPS denial or withdrawal results in an individual having no other lawful immigration status;
DACA recipients and requestors when: (1) processing an initial or renewal DACA request or DACA-related benefit request; or (2) processing a DACA recipient for possible termination of DACA.

Under separate policy guidance issued concurrently, USCIS officers will continue to apply PM 602-0050, Revised Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Removable Aliens, dated November 7, 2011, to the issuance of NTAs and Referrals to ICE for DACA recipients and requestors.

New memo 1 ,general NTAs, and memo 2, DACA NTAs (both issued on June 28, 2018).

Under new June 28 2018 USCIS policy memo, USCIS will issue a Notice to Appear or NTA on its own initiative without referral to ICE, and place individuals in removal or deportation proceedings in immigration court upon denial of an application, if a person is deemed removable on the date of denial.

It will affect many people on H-1B work visa, their spouses, foreign students on F-1 student visa. This new policy will further backlog our immigration courts, and can result in more people becoming inadmissible and requiring waivers if applying for a visa at the U.S. embassy or consulate.

Briefly in Russian:

В соответствии с новыми правилами, опубликованными USCIS 28 июня 2018, Иммиграционная служба США будет передавать дела в иммиграционный суд и выдавать повестки в суд сами, без участия иммиграционной полиции ICE. Такие повестки в суд на депортацию будут выдаваться после отказа в заявлении поданном в USCIS, если заявитель потерял легальный статус на момент получения отказа. Ожидается, что суды станут еще более перегружены, и многие иностранные студенты F-1 student visa, и люди на рабочих визах H-1B получат повестки на депортацию, что ранее было крайне редко.

#USCIS #ICE #NTA #NoticetoAppear #immigration #immigrant #immigrationcourt #deportation #removal

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Denaturalization Task Force to be Established by USCIS

USCIS Will Deny Applications Without First Issuing a RFE or NOID

NTA Notice to Appear New Procedures: More People Will Be Referred for Removal to Immigration Court

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