Director Aguirre Shares USCIS Plans with Congress
Posted Apr 01, 2005
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Eduardo Aguirre, Jr. testified March 17, 2005 before the House Subcommittee on Homeland Security regarding the President's FY2006 Budget Request for the USCIS. The testimony indicates current, as well as plans for future, allocation of time by the USCIS, one of the largest fee-funded agencies in the federal government. By reporting this testimony on USCIS plans for allocating its time and resources, we at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy are enabling our clients and other MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers to better plan and strategize for the long term.
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Current Work
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Director Aguirre testified that the USCIS employs approximately 15,000 persons. Of this number, approximately 5000 are contractors. On a daily basis, this workforce conducts approximately 140,000 national security background checks; answers 80,000 phone queries; processes 30,000 applications for immigration benefits; answers in-person queries from 25,000 visitors at district offices; issues 7000 physical green cards; accepts 80,000 sets of fingerprints; gives the naturalization oath to 3000 new U.S. citizens; approves 3000 persons for lawful permanent resident status; welcomes nearly 200 new refugees; assists American families to adopt nearly 80 foreign-born orphans; approves asylum for nearly 80 applicants; and approves naturalization for 50 persons in the U.S. military.
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Backlog Reduction
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The USCIS claims that the case backlog has been reduced from 3.8 million cases in January 2004 to 1.5 million cases at present. MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers may recall, however, that I-130 preference cases, previously counted as backlog cases, have been removed from the count until such time as the priority dates become current. Thus, while backlog efforts have been commendable and noticeable in certain case types, all the cases eliminated from the backlog count have not been actually adjudicated.
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Efforts to reduce the backlog include upgrading computer systems. The USCIS is currently upgrading both district office and service center infrastructures to implement a new, integrated case management system with a goal of creating a paperless adjudication system.
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Proposed Fees
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Director Aguirre advised the subcommittee that the USCIS will have two new fee proposals for FY2006. The first will be to increase the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) processing fee. The TPS fee is currently $50. The USCIS also intends to propose a premium processing fee for certain non-employment-based applications and petitions, such as advance paroles, employment authorization documents, reentry permits, fiancé/e adjudications, and other unnamed applications and petitions. The fee for premium processing for these cases would be no more than $1000. For EB5 investors, the premium processing fee might exceed $1000.
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It is important to understand that these are PROPOSED fees and may never be implemented. It appears that the Congress and President would need to sign a law to implement these fees, and there is no indication as yet whether either Congress or the President is inclined to change these fees. We note that while premium processing can be a wonderful tool, it is a significant expense in those cases where it is available at this time. Many people will not want to, nor be able to, pay for this service. They should not be penalized by suffering longer waiting times so that the premium cases can be adjudicated within the expedited processing timeframes. Any new premium-processing provisions should take this into consideration, so that, for example, one who cannot afford to pay a premium fee for the Employment Authorization Document is not left waiting even longer than the current processing times to be able gain permission to work.
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Citizenship
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The USCIS Office of Citizenship is continuing to develop a new test for would-be citizens. The USCIS intends to pilot the new English, history, and government tests and prepare study materials before implementation. The new test is not expected to be in use until 2007.