The DOS Database has been having performance issues since July 19th. Up to now, the problem continues and there is no estimate about when things will be working normally again.
There are rumors that on a case-by-case basis, Consulates will waive nonimmigrant visa requirements for admission into the United States for applicants whose U.S. travel involves an “emergency” (i.e., humanitarian travel and life-and-death situations) or impacts U.S. national interests. However, this has not been confirmed by the State Department. In fact, the Department has not made any recent announcement about the status of their Database, and they have not confirmed or denied the possibility of issuing non-immigrant visas in special cases.
F2B to F1? We recently had a question on our Facebook page, asking if it is possible to keep a visa application in the F2B category (adult child of Permanent Resident), instead of being processed as F1 (adult child of US citizen). This applies in cases where the Permanent Resident parent has become a US citizen. In some countries, the change from F2B to F1 will increase the waiting time by a few months, or even a few years, so it is better to stay in the F2B category.
After the naturalization of the petitioner, the petitioner or child can ask to revert to F2B. There's no fee needed to keep the F2B classification. It just needs a letter to the CIS office that approved the F2B petition. If the petition is at NVC or the US Consulate, the request letter to CIS should be copied to them. That will put the case on hold until CIS approves the request and the CIS decision is copied to the CG or to NVC.
USCIS would have to approve your request so you may be reclassified back to your F2B category. If your visa petition is still with the National Visa Center (NVC), you will have to provide a copy of the approval to NVC to update your records.
For Vietnamese applicants, there is not much benefit to staying in the F2B category. Right now, there is only a few months difference in the waiting time between F2B and F1, and it would take CIS a few months just to approve the change back to F2B status. By that time, the F1 petition would be current.
You can log-in to our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/rmiodp
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DOS Prediction: F2A will Move Forward: The F2A category is for the spouse and minor children of Permanent Residents. The State Department Chief of Visa Control, Charles Oppenheim, predicts that the F2A cutoff dates will move forward in September 2014. Right now the F2A cutoff date stands at May 1, 2012. In the upcoming September 2014 Visa Bulletin, these dates could advance, possibly as far as late fall 2012.
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Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS): The Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate has the responsibility to ensure that immigration benefits did not go to individuals who are a threat to the country, or those who try to cheat the system.
Most of the FDNS staff are detectives and researchers who check databases and public information sources to verify information about immigrants. FDNS does research and if they discover abuses of the immigration system, they turn the cases over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to make arrests.
FDNS now has officers in every USCIS field office, service center, and asylum office across the United States, as well as three overseas locations.”
FDNS now conducts site visits to make sure that companies and religious groups that bring immigrant workers and representatives into the country are following the rules, and not engaging in fraudulent behavior.
FDNS works closely with law enforcement and intelligence community agencies, including the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces, and all State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers has detailed FDNS officers to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces, and Forensic Laboratory, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Terrorism Screening Center, the Department of State’s Kentucky Consular Center and National Visa Center, INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau, and others.
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Government Is Accepting Deferred Action Renewals: In June, CIS began to accept renewal applications from young immigrants enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. To avoid a lapse in the period of deferral and employment authorization, individuals must file renewal requests before the expiration of their current period of DACA. USCIS encourages applicants to submit their renewal request approximately 120 days (four months) before their deferred action expires.
The DACA program is a way to give relief to unauthorized immigrants who entered the country illegally as children or who entered legally but later fell out of status. With deferred action status, these immigrants can work or go to school in the country legally for two years without fear of deportation.
The DACA program is designed for children who came to the United States before reaching their 16th birthday and who have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Immigration Reform in 2014: Congress is on vacation now and when they return to work it is unlikely that any major immigration reform laws will be passed. There is a chance that Mr. Obama will find some way to offer benefits to illegal aliens, but this will be temporary and could be cancelled by a new president. The White House says we may see some developments in September.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.1. Is it too late for children to apply for DACA?
A.1. New DACA applications are still being accepted. Applicants must be under 31 years old and have entered the US before their 16th birthday and have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.2. What can Mr. Obama do about immigration reform if Congress does not cooperate with him?
A.2. By executive action, Mr. Obama could arrange for a large-scale expansion of the rights of illegal immigrants. Mr. Obama’s action could protect large numbers of immigrants living in the country illegally. Roughly 5 million of the estimated 11 million people who entered the country without legal authorization or overstayed their visas could be protected. Mr. Obama hopes to use executive action to fix as much of our immigration system as he can, without waiting for the cooperation of Congress.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.3. What is preventing the US Government from reaching a solution to the border crisis involving tens of thousands of Central American children?
A.3. In 2008, Congress passed a law saying that unaccompanied children from Central America can get a chance to apply for asylum. House and Senate Republicans now want to amend the law, while Democrats oppose any change because they believe that some of the children legitimately deserve asylum.
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com www.facebook.com/rmiodp
Immigration Support Services - Tham Van Di Tru
9070 Bolsa Ave., Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388
Rang Mi - 47 Phung Khac Khoan, Q1, HCMC (848) 3914-7638
There are rumors that on a case-by-case basis, Consulates will waive nonimmigrant visa requirements for admission into the United States for applicants whose U.S. travel involves an “emergency” (i.e., humanitarian travel and life-and-death situations) or impacts U.S. national interests. However, this has not been confirmed by the State Department. In fact, the Department has not made any recent announcement about the status of their Database, and they have not confirmed or denied the possibility of issuing non-immigrant visas in special cases.
F2B to F1? We recently had a question on our Facebook page, asking if it is possible to keep a visa application in the F2B category (adult child of Permanent Resident), instead of being processed as F1 (adult child of US citizen). This applies in cases where the Permanent Resident parent has become a US citizen. In some countries, the change from F2B to F1 will increase the waiting time by a few months, or even a few years, so it is better to stay in the F2B category.
After the naturalization of the petitioner, the petitioner or child can ask to revert to F2B. There's no fee needed to keep the F2B classification. It just needs a letter to the CIS office that approved the F2B petition. If the petition is at NVC or the US Consulate, the request letter to CIS should be copied to them. That will put the case on hold until CIS approves the request and the CIS decision is copied to the CG or to NVC.
USCIS would have to approve your request so you may be reclassified back to your F2B category. If your visa petition is still with the National Visa Center (NVC), you will have to provide a copy of the approval to NVC to update your records.
For Vietnamese applicants, there is not much benefit to staying in the F2B category. Right now, there is only a few months difference in the waiting time between F2B and F1, and it would take CIS a few months just to approve the change back to F2B status. By that time, the F1 petition would be current.
You can log-in to our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/rmiodp
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS Prediction: F2A will Move Forward: The F2A category is for the spouse and minor children of Permanent Residents. The State Department Chief of Visa Control, Charles Oppenheim, predicts that the F2A cutoff dates will move forward in September 2014. Right now the F2A cutoff date stands at May 1, 2012. In the upcoming September 2014 Visa Bulletin, these dates could advance, possibly as far as late fall 2012.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS): The Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate has the responsibility to ensure that immigration benefits did not go to individuals who are a threat to the country, or those who try to cheat the system.
Most of the FDNS staff are detectives and researchers who check databases and public information sources to verify information about immigrants. FDNS does research and if they discover abuses of the immigration system, they turn the cases over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to make arrests.
FDNS now has officers in every USCIS field office, service center, and asylum office across the United States, as well as three overseas locations.”
FDNS now conducts site visits to make sure that companies and religious groups that bring immigrant workers and representatives into the country are following the rules, and not engaging in fraudulent behavior.
FDNS works closely with law enforcement and intelligence community agencies, including the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces, and all State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers has detailed FDNS officers to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces, and Forensic Laboratory, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Terrorism Screening Center, the Department of State’s Kentucky Consular Center and National Visa Center, INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau, and others.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government Is Accepting Deferred Action Renewals: In June, CIS began to accept renewal applications from young immigrants enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. To avoid a lapse in the period of deferral and employment authorization, individuals must file renewal requests before the expiration of their current period of DACA. USCIS encourages applicants to submit their renewal request approximately 120 days (four months) before their deferred action expires.
The DACA program is a way to give relief to unauthorized immigrants who entered the country illegally as children or who entered legally but later fell out of status. With deferred action status, these immigrants can work or go to school in the country legally for two years without fear of deportation.
The DACA program is designed for children who came to the United States before reaching their 16th birthday and who have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Immigration Reform in 2014: Congress is on vacation now and when they return to work it is unlikely that any major immigration reform laws will be passed. There is a chance that Mr. Obama will find some way to offer benefits to illegal aliens, but this will be temporary and could be cancelled by a new president. The White House says we may see some developments in September.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.1. Is it too late for children to apply for DACA?
A.1. New DACA applications are still being accepted. Applicants must be under 31 years old and have entered the US before their 16th birthday and have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.2. What can Mr. Obama do about immigration reform if Congress does not cooperate with him?
A.2. By executive action, Mr. Obama could arrange for a large-scale expansion of the rights of illegal immigrants. Mr. Obama’s action could protect large numbers of immigrants living in the country illegally. Roughly 5 million of the estimated 11 million people who entered the country without legal authorization or overstayed their visas could be protected. Mr. Obama hopes to use executive action to fix as much of our immigration system as he can, without waiting for the cooperation of Congress.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.3. What is preventing the US Government from reaching a solution to the border crisis involving tens of thousands of Central American children?
A.3. In 2008, Congress passed a law saying that unaccompanied children from Central America can get a chance to apply for asylum. House and Senate Republicans now want to amend the law, while Democrats oppose any change because they believe that some of the children legitimately deserve asylum.
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com www.facebook.com/rmiodp
Immigration Support Services - Tham Van Di Tru
9070 Bolsa Ave., Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388
Rang Mi - 47 Phung Khac Khoan, Q1, HCMC (848) 3914-7638
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