Siskind Susser is excited to announce that Lynn Susser was recently elected to ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers. ABIL is comprised of over 20 lawyers from top tier immigration practices with years of expertise and a comprehensive understanding of immigration law. For more information on ABIL, including a map of ABIL attorneys worldwide, visit their website at www.abil.com.
The following articles are excerpts from ABIL’s monthly Immigration Insider, available here on their website.
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USCIS Recalls Incorrectly Dated Green Cards for Spouses of U.S.
Citizens On May 14, 2018, USCIS began recalling approximately 8,500 permanent resident cards (“green cards”) due to a production error. The green cards were for approved Forms I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions of Residence, for spouses of U.S. citizens. The cards were printed with an incorrect “Resident Since” date and were mailed between February and April 2018.
USCIS said it was sending notices to individuals who received the incorrect green cards and to their attorneys of record, if any. The affected individuals should return their incorrect green cards to USCIS in the provided pre-paid envelope within 20 days of receiving the notice, or return their cards to USCIS field offices, USCIS said. USCIS will send replacement green cards within 15 days of receiving the incorrect card.
The recall does not affect these green card holders’ status as lawful permanent residents. If affected individuals need to travel internationally or prove their lawful permanent residence while they wait for a replacement card, they may call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 to determine if they need additional proof, the agency said.
Spouses of U.S. citizens may apply for naturalization after three years of permanent residence and must meet other requirements. The incorrect date on these cards could lead applicants to wait longer than necessary to apply to become U.S. citizens, USCIS said.
The USCIS announcement is at https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-recall-incorrectlydated-green-cards.
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Guidance Revised on EB-5 Immigrant Investor Cases Involving Tenant Occupancy; Adjustment of Status Interview Guidelines/Waiver Criteria
USCIS announced on May 16, 2018, that it is revising guidance on immigrant investor (EB-5) cases involving tenant occupancy. Previously, the USCIS Policy Manual allowed for tenant occupancy methodologies used by some petitioners to show that their capital created, or will create, 10 indirect jobs. USCIS said it determined that “these methodologies do not provide reasonable predictions of indirect job creation and are no longer considered reasonable methodologies to support economically or statistically valid forecasting tools.”
USCIS said it therefore will no longer accept tenant-occupancy models for filings. USCIS said it will continue to “give deference to Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, and Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, “when directly related to previously approved projects, absent material change, fraud or misrepresentation, or legal deficiency of the prior determination.”
USCIS also announced the same day that it is updating guidance on adjustment of status interview guidelines and interview waivers by:
- Clarifying that USCIS will interview all adjustment of status applicants unless the agency waives the interview;
- Removing employment-based and fiancé(e)-based adjustment cases from the list of types of adjustment of status cases in which USCIS might waive the interview; and
- Editing the guidance on relocating cases for adjustment interviews to be consistent with the updated list of cases in which USCIS might waive the interview.
The USCIS announcement is at https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-policy-manual-updates.
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USCIS Corrects Biometric Services Appointment Notices with Wrong Application Support Center Locations Dept. Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Texas Company
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on May 23, 2018, that due to a processing error on May 4, 2018, USCIS mailed a number of biometric services appointment notices with incorrect Application Support Center (ASC) locations to petitioners who filed Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence.
The affected notices have a date of 05/04/2018 and a case type of “I-751 – PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS ON RESIDENCE.” The notices tell petitioners to appear for their biometric services appointments starting the week of May 21, 2018, at ASCs located out of the normal geographic area.
On June 8, 2018, USCIS plans to mail new biometric services appointment notices to petitioners who received incorrect notices and did not reschedule their appointments or appear as walk-ins at the closest ASCs to their locations.
USCIS released the following instructions in the meantime:
If you received an incorrect appointment notice, you do not need to travel out of the normal area to attend your biometric services appointment. Instead, you have two options:
- Wait until you receive a new biometric services appointment notice with the correct ASC and new appointment date. You can confirm that we sent a new appointment notice by checking Case Status Online.
- Go to the ASC closest to you as a walk-in. However, you may experience a long wait time and may not be seen that day. You can find the closest ASC by using the ASC locator on https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office.
The USCIS announcement is at https://www.uscis.gov/news/update-form-i-751-petition-removeconditions-residence.
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This newsletter was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (www.abil.com), of which Lynn Susser is an active member.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.