HOW TO FIX USCIS

Well, here are a lot of ideas anyway. The Ombudsman's office has prepared its annual report which includes a number of recommendations on how USCIS can better do its job. The report also lays out in great detail some of USCIS' biggest problem areas including poorly functioning IT and terrible backlogs.  You can download the report here.

Download ombudsman.pdf

Comments

[palanki]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/07/india.toilets/index.html

LOL

[USC]

Senator Kennedy's treatment going well:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25570665/

Why this is an immigration blog issue:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/05/23/legions_he_aided_now_praise_kennedy/

"Some Jewish families who emigrated from the Soviet Union to Boston in the 1970s carry a lasting debt of gratitude to Kennedy, who negotiated directly with Communist leader Leonid Brezhnev to help them win permission to leave the country."

"They made us feel like we were the only ones they were dealing with," he said. "They never asked me if I was a Democrat or a Republican. They never cared."

http://www.newsmax.com/estrich/Ted_Kennedy_/2008/05/21/97783.html

"She asked him what his position was on helping Iranian Jews stranded under the new regime, unable to leave the country to join family in America."

"I can't tell you how many times the senator checked back with me to find out if I had followed up on the woman's problem. The late Jerry Tinker, who spent decades as the senator's chief immigration counsel, made calls, and so did I. It took a few months, long after the presidential campaign had ended and the senator was no longer seeking the votes of people in New Jersey. (I don't think the woman was a citizen yet, anyway. She had just come to the event to ask the question.) But we got visas for that family. Lives saved."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/25/america/letter.php

"In recent decades, Kennedy has shaped health care, education, immigration laws,"

"And his staff members are legendary. In the late 1970s, when I covered the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chaired, his aides included Stephen Breyer, now on the Supreme Court; David Boies, who went on to become one of the country's leading trial lawyers; and Kenneth Feinberg, who expertly directed the compensation fund for 9/11 victims."

[hmm]

I thought it was a good report, so seems like the fears that the new Ombudsman would be more pro-government did not materialize.

BTW, no matter how much I dislike USCIS, their job ain't easy: the immigration law is a mess, and the resources are limited. For me the biggest positive change would be if USCIS could set its own fees as high as they want but offer "equal and prompt service" in return.

Specifically I want them to be able to say how long each application is considered, with "money back" deadline, and it should be the same deadline for all applications in the country. There will be those unable to pay the high fees in full, well, the people should be offered to submit recent tax returns and pay only part of the fee (which of course would raise the fees even higher for the others). In effect I wish premium processing for all applications except that "15 days" is replaced by a suitable time period.