Securing America´s promise with immigration service modernization
Surya B. Prasai
April 21, 2008
America has one of the longest immigration lines anywhere in the world, since it is, by definition a land of immigrants where the Statue of Liberty still beckons the world´s downtrodden, the deprived and those who seek better economic freedoms and democratic opportunities that might not have been there in their own homelands due to political and other forms of persecution or a lack of available opportunities to fulfill life´s ambition. The distinctive value of US society from other developed, immigrant absorbing countries is that it is a great compassionate society, although lately, it has also been dubbed a land having a large number of illegal immigrants, which definitely impacts on the national wage structure, health insurance, social security and crime control. To halt illegal immigration, secure America´s promise with service modernization, promote legal absorption of skills, and attract the world´s extraordinary talent, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has worked consistently on improving its efficiency and customer relationship services in processing US immigration petitions to the US.
Outgoing USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez stated recently, "Our workforce will continue to do everything possible to assist immigrants on the path to legal residency or citizenship, facilitate the smooth transit of others who wish to work here temporarily, and safeguard the security of the United States through the integrity of our immigration system. By adjusting our fee schedule to correspond to the costs of doing business, the agency has been able to further expand its operations, improve efficiency and enhance security while planning for the long-term future viability of our national immigration system."
In 2008, USCIS is planning to process some 20-25 percent more citizenship applications compared to last year, while maintaining the integrity of the U.S immigration system and the security of the process.
Recently, it had received a preliminary number of nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions up to the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. This was enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2009. USCIS also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the "advanced degree" exemption. All "advanced degree" petitions not selected will be part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit. More than 31,200 of those petitions were for the advanced degree exemption.
USCIS earlier announced it will be completing more than one million naturalization cases during fiscal year 2008, far exceeding the number of cases it had completed in 2007. This is after a thorough analysis of the work completed during the last six months. Recently, the US´s Department of Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff had appeared before a US Senate Committee to discuss Immigration related topics and answer questions from Senators. Secretary Chertoff stated, "As we take steps to meet the lawful needs of our economy, we are also working to improve existing immigration benefits and services for those seeking to live in, work in, or immigrate to the United States …We must continue to welcome new generations of immigrants to the United States to pursue their dreams and enrich our civic culture and our society. But, as we also know, immigration has become an issue that is inextricably linked to our national security."
According to USCIS, in the summer of 2007, the agency received an unprecedented number of applications and petitions for immigration benefits. The months of June, July and August 2007 alone showed USCIS receiving nearly three million filings, compared to 1.8 million filings during the same period a year earlier. The unprecedented surge last year included 1.4 million naturalization applications of which, 460,000 were in July alone. USCIS states, historically filing increases have occurred in advance of fee increases, Presidential elections, immigration debates and new legislation, but none of the past increases are close to the magnitude of last summer´s surge. As of March 11, 2008, processing times for naturalization applications filed after June 1, 2007 had been lowered to 14 to 16 months from 16-18 months. Another positive development is the USCIS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have already started joint work to eliminate the backlog of name checks pending with the FBI. According to USCIS´s in its April 2008 newsletter, both agencies have established a series of milestones prioritizing work based on the age of the pending name check. Earlier, the FBI had eliminated all name check cases pending more than four years. This plan of action is the product of a strong partnership between USCIS and the FBI to eliminate the backlogs and to strengthen national security.
Recently, USCIS has also been working on internal efficiency reforms, improving business processes, developing stronger management innovation, and re-tailoring its stepped up processing timelines using e-feedback, and customer responses. Some of the steps include detailing employees to work in the most heavily affected offices, quadrupling the funding for overtime and using Asylum Office facilities and staff to conduct naturalization interviews.
President George W. Bush has shown remarkable leadership, an enlightened mind and pragmatic vision by focusing dispassionately on immigration issues that will benefit American society in the decades to come. In President Bush´s landmark address on US immigration last year, he stated: "For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders. As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border, and millions have stayed. We're a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws. We're also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways. These are not contradictory goals. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. We will fix the problems created by illegal immigration, and we will deliver a system that is secure, orderly, and fair."
Maintaining the optimum immigration balance for America, in short, is a serious philosophical challenge both for USCIS, the Department of Homeland security, the US House and those working on immigration reforms. But America can count on its 17,000 USCIS staff , some of the most dedicated and hardworking professionals in the U.S. government infused with diverse expertise, technical training and skills, and focused singularly on handling the nearly 350 percent increase in applications for naturalization within the past one year.
According to USCIS, this year, by utilizing revenue generated from the new fees, it plans to hire more than 3,000 new employees over the course of the current fiscal year and has been approved to rehire experienced retirees on a temporary basis to assist with urgent adjudications. According to USCIS, modernization efforts to build a fully-electronic immigration platform continues to move forward through pilot-programs and employee evaluations. More than 34 USCIS facilities will be renovated or replaced nationwide, and employees both new and old can take advantage of an increased selection of professional training and career development opportunities. The USCIS has been commended by the U.S. government for accomplishing significant contributions to DHS´s overall national security mission and provided valuable immigration services through dedicated and tireless work of its employees and contractors in the past.
Outgoing USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez stated recently, "Our workforce will continue to do everything possible to assist immigrants on the path to legal residency or citizenship, facilitate the smooth transit of others who wish to work here temporarily, and safeguard the security of the United States through the integrity of our immigration system. By adjusting our fee schedule to correspond to the costs of doing business, the agency has been able to further expand its operations, improve efficiency and enhance security while planning for the long-term future viability of our national immigration system."
In 2008, USCIS is planning to process some 20-25 percent more citizenship applications compared to last year, while maintaining the integrity of the U.S immigration system and the security of the process.
Recently, it had received a preliminary number of nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions up to the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. This was enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2009. USCIS also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the "advanced degree" exemption. All "advanced degree" petitions not selected will be part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit. More than 31,200 of those petitions were for the advanced degree exemption.
USCIS earlier announced it will be completing more than one million naturalization cases during fiscal year 2008, far exceeding the number of cases it had completed in 2007. This is after a thorough analysis of the work completed during the last six months. Recently, the US´s Department of Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff had appeared before a US Senate Committee to discuss Immigration related topics and answer questions from Senators. Secretary Chertoff stated, "As we take steps to meet the lawful needs of our economy, we are also working to improve existing immigration benefits and services for those seeking to live in, work in, or immigrate to the United States …We must continue to welcome new generations of immigrants to the United States to pursue their dreams and enrich our civic culture and our society. But, as we also know, immigration has become an issue that is inextricably linked to our national security."
According to USCIS, in the summer of 2007, the agency received an unprecedented number of applications and petitions for immigration benefits. The months of June, July and August 2007 alone showed USCIS receiving nearly three million filings, compared to 1.8 million filings during the same period a year earlier. The unprecedented surge last year included 1.4 million naturalization applications of which, 460,000 were in July alone. USCIS states, historically filing increases have occurred in advance of fee increases, Presidential elections, immigration debates and new legislation, but none of the past increases are close to the magnitude of last summer´s surge. As of March 11, 2008, processing times for naturalization applications filed after June 1, 2007 had been lowered to 14 to 16 months from 16-18 months. Another positive development is the USCIS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have already started joint work to eliminate the backlog of name checks pending with the FBI. According to USCIS´s in its April 2008 newsletter, both agencies have established a series of milestones prioritizing work based on the age of the pending name check. Earlier, the FBI had eliminated all name check cases pending more than four years. This plan of action is the product of a strong partnership between USCIS and the FBI to eliminate the backlogs and to strengthen national security.
Recently, USCIS has also been working on internal efficiency reforms, improving business processes, developing stronger management innovation, and re-tailoring its stepped up processing timelines using e-feedback, and customer responses. Some of the steps include detailing employees to work in the most heavily affected offices, quadrupling the funding for overtime and using Asylum Office facilities and staff to conduct naturalization interviews.
President George W. Bush has shown remarkable leadership, an enlightened mind and pragmatic vision by focusing dispassionately on immigration issues that will benefit American society in the decades to come. In President Bush´s landmark address on US immigration last year, he stated: "For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders. As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border, and millions have stayed. We're a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws. We're also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways. These are not contradictory goals. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. We will fix the problems created by illegal immigration, and we will deliver a system that is secure, orderly, and fair."
Maintaining the optimum immigration balance for America, in short, is a serious philosophical challenge both for USCIS, the Department of Homeland security, the US House and those working on immigration reforms. But America can count on its 17,000 USCIS staff , some of the most dedicated and hardworking professionals in the U.S. government infused with diverse expertise, technical training and skills, and focused singularly on handling the nearly 350 percent increase in applications for naturalization within the past one year.
According to USCIS, this year, by utilizing revenue generated from the new fees, it plans to hire more than 3,000 new employees over the course of the current fiscal year and has been approved to rehire experienced retirees on a temporary basis to assist with urgent adjudications. According to USCIS, modernization efforts to build a fully-electronic immigration platform continues to move forward through pilot-programs and employee evaluations. More than 34 USCIS facilities will be renovated or replaced nationwide, and employees both new and old can take advantage of an increased selection of professional training and career development opportunities. The USCIS has been commended by the U.S. government for accomplishing significant contributions to DHS´s overall national security mission and provided valuable immigration services through dedicated and tireless work of its employees and contractors in the past.
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