Immigration ombudsman aiding H-1B, Green Card applicants disbanded: What's next?
What's the story
The Donald Trump administration has dissolved the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman, an important oversight body that played a key role in helping immigrants facing visa-related issues.
The move is likely to affect H-1B visa holders, students on F-1 visa, and Green Card applicants, many of whom belong to the Indian diaspora.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) said the Ombudsman handled nearly 30,000 requests last year alone.
Impact
Why CIS Ombudsman was crucial
The CIS Ombudsman office was crucial in resolving delays, mistakes and disputes in applications for immigrants.
It helped with everything from mistaken denials of filings, to typographical errors on secure documents (Green Cards, Employment Authorization Documents etc.) and mailing issues.
"F-1 and H-1B visa holders turned to the CIS Ombudsman when they hit bureaucratic roadblocks within US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that threatened their legal status," said Rajiv S Khanna, an Arlington-based immigration attorney.
Case studies
Resolving immigration issues
Khanna gave the example of a Bengaluru engineer whose H-1B extension was pending since 11 months.
Despite following procedure and raising several service requests, the case didn't budge till the Ombudsman stepped in.
"After the Ombudsman's intervention, approval came within two weeks," Khanna added.
He also recounted how a student's Optional Practical Training (OPT) request was wrongly denied due to misinterpreted documents, but fixed by the Ombudsman.
Information retrieval
CIS Ombudsman's role in obtaining important notices
Adam Cohen, a partner at immigration law firm Siskind Susser, noted the Ombudsman's office had also helped applicants obtain important notices from USCIS, and to get out of long delays.
"The CIS Ombudsman helped in acquiring receipt or approval notices, which were not received and USCIS insisted on filing Form I-824 which entailed a prolonged process to get another one (i.e.: a duplicate)," he said.
The CIS Ombudsman being disbanded has caused fears of limited options for redress.