What do I do if the Icelandic volcano delays my departure from the US?

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency and USCIS have both issued guidance for people who cannot leave the US because of travel restrictions, and who might therefore overstay their I-94s.  The CBP guidance is here and reproduced below. The USCIS update is here.

"If you or someone you know is stranded in the United States because of the airport closures in Europe due to the Icelandic volcano eruption and is about to exceed their authorized stay as a direct result of these closures, there are two avenues for relief:

If the traveler is at the airport and traveling under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and unable to depart timely, as a result of airport closures or flight delays/cancellations, travelers should:

1. Contact the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office at the airport or;
2. Contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office.

Both agencies have provided staff with guidance on the applicable legal authorities under the VWP in circumstances such as these.

If persons are traveling under a visa, they should contact the nearest USCIS office and follow the instructions at the following link: (USCIS - Extend My Stay)

While this link recommends initiating the process 45 days in advance, USCIS is providing guidance on how to handle these cases over this weekend.

Travelers should continue to contact their airline for information about flight schedules, delays and cancellations. If airlines have questions about the situation, they can contact their Regional Carrier Liaison Group (RCLG). The Miami RCLG can be reached at (305) 874-5444."

CIS teleconference today on recent H-1B memo

As noted yesterday, CIS held a "collaboration session" on the recent H-1B "employer-employee relationship" memo. Not surprisingly, the session was very well attended, with 500-600 people listening by phone, and another 40-50 attending in person. The session was generally not in a question and answer format, more a forum for each side to air opinions and comments.

CIS began by noting that the memo had been in the works for years.  The goal was to clarify the requirements and make it easier for employers and immigration lawyers to understand the standards.

Criticism

Many of the public comments that followed CIS's opening statements were critical of the memo and urged CIS to revoke it.  The comments, primarily from attorneys but also from one Senator and some business-owners, objected to the memo on various grounds, mainly

1. that it was creating new law in violation of the required rule-making procedures. Some businesspeople told of the US workers that had been laid off because their jobs would have supported H-1B workers that couldn't get hired;
2. that reducing the flow of H-1B workers into the US would stifle the American economy and encourage outsourcing;
3. that the memo as written would affect more than just the "job-shops" that CIS seemed to target., For example, a few attorneys remarked that this memo would prevent most doctors from getting H-1B status because very few doctors are employed directly by the hospital where they work. CIS seemed to acknowledge that they had not thought of this consequence;
4. that it violated existing H-1B regulations;
5. that it was having a domino effect, already causing problems for H-1B holders entering at US airports, and had even been the cause of one L-1 petition denial. CIS stated that it had no authority over CBP actions at the airport and that  the memo was not intended to effect anything other than H-1B petition decisions at CIS Service Centers.

Praise for the memo

Some speakers praised the memo. though their comments were vastly outnumbered by the memo's criticisms. Those in favor of the memo thanked CIS for restricting H-1B numbers at a time that many US workers were unemployed. One particularly vehement opponent of the H-1B program railed against Indian workers in particular and was cut off when her comments became particularly unhelpful and harsh.

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In the end, CIS agreed to consider all the comments and have a subsequent call on the topic. It noted that people can sign up for notice of this and other CIS events on their Public Engagement web page here.

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P.S. I will not accept anonymous comments that criticize my firm, foreign nationals, US immigration policy, etc.  If you want these comments posted, please say who you are, like I do.

USCIS: Naturalization Information Sessions

USCIS is holding free information sessions for people interested in becoming US citizens.  See here for details:  USCIS: Naturalization Information Sessions

USCIS launches redesigned website

The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) launched a redesigned website today. As stated in the press release

The new USCIS website provides a one-stop location for immigration services and information—including an innovative service called My Case Status, which allows immigration customers to receive alerts on the status of their applications via text message and e-mail.

Other new features include a Where to Start tool to guide users through the navigation process; a simplified way to track individual case status; local and national case processing times; an improved search engine; and a new Information Dashboard feature allowing users to access national immigration trends associated with immigration petitions and applications.

The site is available in English and in Spanish.

CIS has issued the latest processing time goal and report here. In a 2007 fee rule, CIS aimed to reduce processing times by 20% by 2009. CIS is meeting its goals in some ares, e.g. EAD applications, I-129 petitions (2 month goal) and I-131 applications (3 month goal). In some other popular cases, processing times are well behind the goals, e,g, I-140 petitions (9 month processing vs 4 month goal), I-751 Removal of Conditions (9 month processing vs 6 month goal), Adjustment of Status for family (7.3 month processing vs 4 month goal). We have seen many cases take less than the posted processing times, especially naturalization applications. However there are also cases taking longer.