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Recommendations by the CIS Ombudsman

This section contains all of the Ombudsman’s formal recommendations made since the establishment of the Ombudsman’s office in July 2003. Problems reported to the Ombudsman by individuals and employers (during the Ombudsman’s travels), discussions with immigration stakeholders, and suggestions of USCIS employees themselves provide the basis for many of the recommendations listed below.

Recommendations prepared by the CIS Ombudsman are intended to:

  • ensure national security and the integrity of the legal immigration system,
  • increase efficiencies in administering citizenship and immigration services, and
  • improve customer service in the rendering of citizenship and immigration services.

The USCIS responses to the Ombudsman’s recommendations are also included in this section.

October 2008

Recommendation #35: The CIS Ombudsman recommends that USCIS: (1) adhere to regulations that state USCIS shall issue Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) within 90 days, or issue interim EADs, to prevent unnecessary loss of employment;(2) expeditiously provide information to the public stating the cause of EAD processing delays and how the delays will be addressed; (3) provide consistent guidance to the public regarding EADs pending more than 90 days via the National Customer Service Center toll-free number and local offices; and, (4) reconsider Ombudsman recommendation FR2006-25 to issue multi-year EADs. Additionally, the Ombudsman suggests that (5) USCIS consider the following operational procedures to issue interim EADs when applications are pending over 90 days; (6) modify USCIS I-797 Receipt Notices for Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) to provide for continued employment authorization; and,(7) affix fraud proof stickers to expired EADs upon determination of an applicant's eligibility for an extension. October 1, 2008, (PDF, 5 pages - 104KB)

April 2008

Recommendation #34: The CIS Ombudsman recommends that USCIS clarify its refund of fees procedures and revise the Adjudicator's Field Manual, Section 10.10 “Refund of Fees” accordingly. The Ombudsman further recommends that USCIS provide customers with a way, such as refund request receipt information, to track the status of the refund. April 8, 2008, (PDF, 3 pages - 92KB)

August 2007

Recommendation #33: The Ombudsman recommends the following regarding USCIS adjudications of petitions that are returned to USCIS by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) for revocation or revalidation: (1) Issue receipt notices to customers when the petition file is returned and received by USCIS Service Centers. (2) Establish a nationwide standard for the re-adjudication of petitions returned by consular offices for revocation or revalidation and amend the Operating Instructions/Adjudicator's Field Manual accordingly; include a “REVOCATION” entry in the processing time reports. (3) Provide additional information about revocation or revalidation processes on the USCIS website. August 24, 2007, (PDF, 5 pages - 247 KB)

June 2007

2007 Annual Report Recommendations, June 11, 2007

April 2007

Recommendation #32: Recommendation to USCIS that it 1) post general information on deferred action on its website; 2) maintain statistics on the issuance and denial of deferred action requests; and 3) designate a headquarters official to review grants and denials of deferred action requests on a quarterly basis to ensureUSCIS Response to Recommendation #32 that like cases are decided in like manner, April 9, 2007, (PDF, 4 pages – 105 KB)

February 2007

Recommendation #31: Recommendation that USCIS adopt a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) under which there would be at least 30 day advance notice to the public and posting on the USCIS website of changes to policy and operations instructions, absent exigent circumstances, February 8, 2007, (PDF, 3 pages - 86 KB)

July 2006

Recommendation #30: Recommendation to USCIS to improve Freedom of Information Act operations while ensuring that information is provided timely by implementing seventeen actions and requirements which will result in a substantially reduced backlog, July 12, 2006, (PDF, 15 pages - 175 KB)

June 2006

Annual Report Recommendations, June 30, 2006

Recommendation #29: Recommendation that USCIS amend O petition rules to facilitate “extraordinary ability” aliens’ employment in the United States by extending the maximum initial validity of O petitions from three to five years, and increasing the maximum extension length from one to five years, June 30, 2006, (PDF, 6 pages - 113 KB)

Recommendation #28: A recommendation to immediately implement an online change-of-address procedure to supplement the current Form AR-11 process, June 9, 2006 (PDF, 4 pages - 82 KB)

May 2006

Recommendation #27: Recommendation to USCIS that it implement up-front processing of immigration benefits beginning with those for family-based adjustment of status applications for the following reasons: 1) to enhance security and process integrity; 2) to improve customer service; and 3) to increase USCIS efficiency, May 19, 2006 (PDF, 11 pages - 127 KB)

April 2006

Recommendation #26: Recommendation to accept DNA test results as secondary evidence of family relationship, to grant authority to directors to require DNA testing and to initiate a DNA testing pilot project to study the impact of requiring DNA testing as evidence of family relationship, April 13, 2006, (PDF, 6 pages - 133 KB)

March 2006

Recommendation #25: Changes to employment authorization document (“EAD”) procedures including: (1) issuance of multi-year EADs; (2) issuance of EADs valid as of the date any previous issuance expires; and (3) amendment to regulations to provide that K-1 nonimmigrants are not subject to breaks in employment authorization, March 20, 2006, (PDF, 5 pages - 100 KB)

Recommendation #24: Asylum Office limitation on adjudication of I-589 applications for asylum and withholding of removal to those submitted from individuals who are in valid non-immigrant status in the United States, March 20, 2006, (PDF, 95 pages - 924 KB)

Recommendation #23: Elimination of fingerprint requirements for active duty United States military personnel in the naturalization application processes, March 20, 2006 (PDF, 3 pages - 84 KB)

Recommendation #22: Standardization of Notices to Appear (“NTAs”) to provide that NTAs be issued and filed with the immigration court in all cases where, as a result of adjustment of status denial, the applicant is out of status, March 20, 2006, (PDF, 4 pages - 87 KB)

December 2005

Recommendation #21: Automation and standardization of the Notice of Action Form (I-797) that includes Form I-94 for asylum approval notifications by the USCIS Asylum Division, December 7, 2005 (PDF, 3 pages - 85 KB)

Recommendation #20: Publication of the process under which cases are deemed precedent decisions, the criteria under which cases are selected for oral argument, and the statistics on decision making by the Administrative Appeals Office, December 7, 2005 (PDF, 5 pages - 91 KB)

October 2005

Recommendation #19: Elimination of ‘pick up’ decision delivery process for asylum applicants in favor of a certified mail, return receipt notification process, October 13, 2005 (PDF, 4 pages - 87 KB)

August 2005

Recommendation #18: Publication of nonimmigrant visas issued against the annual numerical limitation on H-1B and H-2B visas to project the numerical cap of annually available visa numbers, August 28, 2005 (PDF,3 pages - 83 KB)

July 2005

Recommendation #17: Elimination of the postal meter mark ‘Return Service Requested’ on USCIS envelopes, thereby allowing all USCIS correspondence to be forwarded to applicants/petitioners, July 29, 2005 (PDF, 4 pages - 1.3 MB)

June 2005

Recommendation #16: Policy changes to processing procedures for form I-131 refugee travel documents, June 10, 2005 (PDF, 3 pages - 83 KB)

May 2005

Recommendation #15: Correction to contract issues for Department of the Treasury Lockbox and contractor, Bank One, Inc. due to untimely issuance of receipts to petitioners and applicants, May 9, 2005 (PDF, 3 pages - 84 KB)

February 2005

Recommendation #14: Guidelines for USCIS termination of pilot programs, February 25, 2005 (PDF, 2 pages - 77 KB)

December 2004

Recommendation #13: Long and short-term recommendations concerning USCIS issuance of permanent resident cards to arriving immigrants, December 15, 2004 (PDF, 4 pages - 88 KB)

November 2004

Recommendation #12: Cessation of use of the Department of Treasury Lockbox by USCIS upon the expiration of its current Memorandum of Understanding, November 29, 2004 (PDF, 4 pages - 92 KB)

Recommendation #11: National policy guidance on the implementation of InfoPass to ensure equitable access to immigration services, November 29, 2004 (PDF, 2 pages - 82 KB)

October 2004

Recommendation #10: Correction to Naturalization policy memorandum in order to fully comply with section 319(a) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, as amended by Public Law 106-386, October 6, 2004 (PDF, 3 pages - 86 KB)

Recommendation #9: Single USCIS forms package per type of petition/application regardless of which district office or service center will process the petition/application, October 6, 2004 (PDF, 2 pages - 87.80 KB)

September 2004

Recommendation #8: Expansion of the Premium Processing Service (PPS) to include employment-based change-of-status (I-539) applications, September 27, 2004 (PDF, 3 pages - 83 KB)

August 2004

Recommendation #7: Establishment of a separate fee structure for the “e-filing” of applications/petitions, August 16, 2004 (PDF, 3 pages - 72 KB)

Recommendation #6: Authorization for employers to store Form I-9s electronically, August 16, 2004 (PDF, 2 pages - 83 KB)

Recommendation #5: Customer Service Training for USCIS Employees, August 11, 2004 (PDF, 2 pages - 79 KB)

June 2004

Recommendation #4: Modification of Fee Instructions, June 29, 2004 (PDF, 1 page - 24 KB)

Recommendation #3: Reengineering Green Card Replacement Processing, June 18, 2004 (PDF, 1 page - 17 KB)

Recommendation #2: Streamlining Employment-Based Immigrant Processing, June 18, 2004 (PDF, 2 pages - 16 KB)

Recommendation #1: Streamlining Family-Based Immigrant Processing, June 18, 2004 (PDF, 2 pages - 19 KB)

This page was last reviewed/modified on October 3, 2008.