Ombudsman Updates

These updates share information on current areas of focus in the Ombudsman's Office, as well as current topics and issues of concern.

• Ombudsman’s Office Now Requires Form DHS 7001 for Employment Authorization Cases
  The Ombudsman’s Office requests that customers submit Form DHS 7001 for all cases, including those pertaining to applications for Employment Authorization Documents (EAD). Form DHS 7001 is required by the Ombudsman’s Office for compliance with applicable privacy rules.

• Email Outage November 6 - 7, 2011
  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Headquarters, which includes the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, experienced an incoming e-mail delivery outage from external sources Sunday, November 6, from 7 p.m. Eastern Time until Monday, November 7, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. E-mail sent from outside DHS was not received.
   
• Ombudsman's Office holds First Annual Conference: Government and Stakeholders - Finding Solutions Together
  On October 20, 2011, the Ombudsman's Office hosted its first annual conference with nearly 300 participants from community and faith based organizations, national networks, business and industry associations, law schools, and individual immigration practices, as well as officials from multiple government agencies.
   
• Survivor Benefits for Widows and Widowers of U.S. Citizens
  This update concerns an approaching deadline for certain eligible widows and widowers of U.S. citizens to file Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (PDF, 12 pages - 230 KB), (I-360 petition), if seeking immigration benefits on the basis of their marriage to the deceased.
   
• Federal Change of Address Procedures
  The Ombudsman's Office encourages immigration benefits applicants and petitioners to promptly notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the U.S. Department of State (DOS), and/or the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) of any change in address. This update provides additional information on the change of address procedures for these federal agencies.
   
• H-2B Petition Requests For Evidence
  The H-2B non-agricultural worker program enables qualified U.S. non-agricultural employers that anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring temporary nonimmigrant foreign workers from certain designated countries to the United States. The Ombudsman is receiving reports that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing Requests for Evidence (RFEs) that question the claimed “temporary” nature of the employer’s business need for foreign labor. This update is designed to provide additional information on this issue.
   
• Advance Parole Tips
  Advance Parole is permission granted to qualified foreign nationals to allow them to re-enter the United States after temporarily traveling abroad. This update provides additional information on Advance Parole, including non-emergency Advance Parole, expedited processing for Advance Parole, emergency Advance Parole, and travel warnings regarding unlawful presence.
   
• Change of Address with USCIS
  This Update provides helpful hints for U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens on changing your address with USCIS.
   
• Mailing Issues: Have You Not Received a USCIS Document or Card?
  Has U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicated to you that a document or card would be sent, but you have not received it? Examples of USCIS documents or cards include: USCIS receipt notices, travel documents, employment authorization documents, and green cards.
   
• Getting the Most Out of Your Call to the USCIS National Customer Service Center
  This Update shares information about the USCIS National Customer Service Center, how to prepare for your call, what information to record from your call.

Can’t find information from a previous Ombudsman Update? Previous Ombudsman Updates have been archived in the DHS FOIA Reading Room.