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Hold USCIS Accountable to Maximize Use of All Available Employment-Based Green Cards – Template Letter to Representatives

Employment-based adjustment of status applicants continue to experience extremely long processing delays of their I-485s, so much so that we are at risk of losing a large portion of the Fiscal Year 2021 employment-based green cards to government inefficiency.

As of September 8, 2020, the Department of State anticipated that the FY2021 (beginning on October 1, 2020) annual limit for employment-based immigrant visas would be 261,500, an all-time high. In consultation with the USCIS Office of Policy and Strategy, Final Action and Application Filing Dates were advanced rapidly by the Department of State to accommodate processing plans for USCIS offices and to maximize number use within the FY 2021 annual limit of 261,500. The Department of State confirmed that pending demand, in the form of applications for adjustment of status and documentarily qualified immigrant visa applicants was well below the estimated annual limit of 261,500 immigrant visas in September of 2020. In light of this, the advancement of Final Action and Filing Dates resulted in USCIS receiving 246,183 adjustment of status applications to meet the 261,500 available quota between October 2020 through June 2021. This is a clear indication that there is sufficient demand to utilize all 261,500 available visas.

Despite having a larger than normal number of green cards available, USCIS is failing to process adjustment of status applications quickly enough to utilize the 261,500 immigrant visas. With just over 30 days left in the fiscal year, USCIS data indicates that service centers have only approved 74,734 adjustment of status applications, leaving it practically inevitable that over 100,000 immigrant visas will go unused.

While USCIS has picked up its pace of adjudications and made some modifications to processes and procedures, we cannot rely on improved efficiency alone to maximize the use of all available employment-based green cards. We must urge congressional oversight of USCIS and demand that all 261,500 immigrant visas be utilized by September 30, 2021 by applying Section 206 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

INA 206 specifically governs unused immigrant visas. Congress specified:

”If an immigrant having an immigrant visa is denied admission to the United States and removed, or does not apply for admission before the expiration of the validity of his visa, or if an alien having an immigrant visa issued to him as a preference immigrant is found not to be a preference immigrant, an immigrant visa or a preference immigrant visa, as the case may be, may be issued in lieu thereof to another qualified alien.”

USCIS must issue immigrant visas between now and September 30, 2021 to available preference immigrants, ie those whose Final Action Dates are current and who have filed an application to adjust status, to reach the annual limit of 261,500. Should USCIS later determine during the remaining adjudicative process that an individual who was issued an immigrant visa is not actually eligible for the visa, ie is found not to be a preference immigrant, USCIS may revoke the lawful permanent residence and assign the immigrant visa to another qualified alien.

USCIS could accomplish this most efficiently by approving qualified applicants for adjustment of status through a policy memo on September 30 using the discretion given to the DHS secretary in the Immigration and Nationality Act and then revoking them all on October 1. According to Section 206 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, this would allow the government to recapture the approved but now revoked green cards and make them available for use in Fiscal Year 2022 beginning on October 1, 2021. In this way, USCIS will fulfill its mandate of utilizing the numerical limits prescribed by Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act while taking into account the current capabilities of the agency that are limited as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At this point, it is extremely important to alert your Representative to the issue and demand action. While it may be easier to simply retweet posts on twitter or “click here” to sign a petition, a letter sharing your personal story will have a greater chance of motivating your representative to put pressure on USCIS to utilize INA Section 206 to ensure maximum number utilization. Below you will find a template for a letter (email) you can personalize and send.

 

 

For Sending a Letter by Email to Your House Representative:

 

You can find the name and website of your Representative by going to https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative. You can then click on your Representative’s website and find the button for Contact -> Email Me. When addressing your email, you can use the following format:

 

*************************************************************

 

Dear Representative (last name):

 

My name is __________, and I am writing this letter to urge you to demand USCIS to utilize Section 206 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to save thousands of Employment-based Immigrant Visas Numbers from being wasted on September 30, 2021.

I am a _____job title_____ and have been living and working in the United States pursuant to a temporary work visa since ____date____. My family has been able to move to the United States and live with me as my dependent(s) by maintaining ____H-4/L-2____ visa status. I have correctly followed all required steps to apply for a green card and have waited _____years for an immigrant visa to be available based on my category and country of birth. Now that 261,500 immigrant visas are available, I can finally see the possibility of receiving a green card, but only if USCIS can adjudicate adjustment of status applications on time.

I want to contribute to this country. My work in the field of ___________helps _______[describe the importance of your work to the US economy or society] _______. I have done my best to comply with all the immigration rules of this country. I have been through ____ # of H-1B (or F-1, OPT, L-1, H-4, etc) ______ visa renewals over the years. I have been photographed and fingerprinted. It has cost thousands of dollars in government filing fees for me to maintain my status. Every time I have traveled to my home country, I have gone through a visa interview at a U.S. Consulate. The Department of Labor has already confirmed that my presence in the United States does not harm U.S. workers. At every stage of my journey, my fate is subject to the whims of inefficient processing.

Generations of immigrants have come to this country with little more than the clothes on their backs, the hope in their heart, and a desire to claim their own piece of the American Dream. It’s the reason this country has constantly been able to renew itself, to grow better and stronger as a nation, and to meet new challenges. Immigration is essential to who this country is as a nation, its core values, and its aspirations for the future. The United States deserves an immigration system that reflects our highest values as a nation and operates efficiently and effectively within the limits set forth by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act.

As of September 8, 2020, the Department of State anticipated that the FY2021 (beginning on October 1, 2020) annual limit for employment-based immigrant visas would be 261,500, an all-time high. In light of this, the Department of State advanced the Final Action and Filing Dates in the October 2020 Visa Bulletin, resulting in USCIS receiving 246,183 adjustment of status applications to meet the 261,500 available quota. This is a clear indication that there is sufficient demand to utilize all 261,500 available visas.

Despite having a larger than normal number of green cards available and sufficient demand, USCIS is failing to process adjustment of status applications quickly enough to utilize the 261,500 immigrant visas. USCIS data indicates that service centers have only approved 74,734 adjustment of status applications, leaving it practically inevitable that over 100,000 immigrant visas will go unused.

With just over 30 days remaining in the fiscal year, it is clear that USCIS will not be able to complete the adjudication of 261,500 applications for adjustment of status by September 30, 2021 to utilize all available immigrant visas authorized by Congress. In light of this, USCIS should be mandated to use its authority under INA 206 governing unused immigrant visas. Congress specified:

”If an immigrant having an immigrant visa is denied admission to the United States and removed, or does not apply for admission before the expiration of the validity of his visa, or if an alien having an immigrant visa issued to him as a preference immigrant is found not to be a preference immigrant, an immigrant visa or a preference immigrant visa, as the case may be, may be issued in lieu thereof to another qualified alien.”

USCIS must issue immigrant visas between now and September 30, 2021 to available preference immigrants, ie those whose Final Action Dates are current and who have filed an application to adjust status, to reach the annual limit of 261,500. Should USCIS later determine during the remaining adjudicative process that an individual who was issued an immigrant visa is not actually eligible for the visa, ie is found not to be a preference immigrant, USCIS may revoke the lawful permanent residence and assign the immigrant visa to another qualified alien.

USCIS could accomplish this most efficiently by approving qualified applicants for adjustment of status through a policy memo on September 30 using the discretion given to the DHS secretary in the Immigration and Nationality Act and then revoking the same on October 1. According to Section 206 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, this would allow the agency to recapture the approved but now revoked green cards and make them available for use in Fiscal Year 2022 beginning on October 1, 2021. In this way, USCIS will fulfill its mandate of utilizing the numerical limits prescribed by Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act while taking into account the current capabilities of the agency that are limited as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please help ensure my family can adjust status without wasting available immigrant visa numbers. I urge you to hold USCIS accountable for ensuring that no immigrant visa you have authorized to be used goes to waste. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

____Name_______

 

For Sending a Letter by Email to Your Senator:

 

You can find the name and address of your Senator by going to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. You can then click on your Senator’s website and find the button for Contact -> Email Me. When addressing your email, you can use the following format:

 

**********************************************************************

 

Dear Senator (last name):

 

My name is __________, and I am writing this letter to urge you to demand USCIS to utilize Section 206 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to save thousands of Employment-based Immigrant Visas Numbers from being wasted on September 30, 2021.

I am a _____job title_____ and have been living and working in the United States pursuant to a temporary work visa since ____date____. My family has been able to move to the United States and live with me as my dependent(s) by maintaining ____H-4/L-2____ visa status. I have correctly followed all required steps to apply for a green card and have waited _____years for an immigrant visa to be available based on my category and country of birth. Now that 261,500 immigrant visas are available, I can finally see the possibility of receiving a green card, but only if USCIS can adjudicate adjustment of status applications on time.

I want to contribute to this country. My work in the field of ___________helps _______[describe the importance of your work to the US economy or society] _______. I have done my best to comply with all the immigration rules of this country. I have been through ____ # of H-1B (or F-1, OPT, L-1, H-4, etc) ______ visa renewals over the years. I have been photographed and fingerprinted. It has cost thousands of dollars in government filing fees for me to maintain my status. Every time I have traveled to my home country, I have gone through a visa interview at a U.S. Consulate. The Department of Labor has already confirmed that my presence in the United States does not harm U.S. workers. At every stage of my journey, my fate is subject to the whims of inefficient processing.

Generations of immigrants have come to this country with little more than the clothes on their backs, the hope in their heart, and a desire to claim their own piece of the American Dream. It’s the reason this country has constantly been able to renew itself, to grow better and stronger as a nation, and to meet new challenges. Immigration is essential to who this country is as a nation, its core values, and its aspirations for the future. The United States deserves an immigration system that reflects our highest values as a nation and operates efficiently and effectively within the limits set forth by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act.

As of September 8, 2020, the Department of State anticipated that the FY2021 (beginning on October 1, 2020) annual limit for employment-based immigrant visas would be 261,500, an all-time high. In light of this, the Department of State advanced the Final Action and Filing Dates in the October 2020 Visa Bulletin, resulting in USCIS receiving 246,183 adjustment of status applications to meet the 261,500 available quota. This is a clear indication that there is sufficient demand to utilize all 261,500 available visas.

Despite having a larger than normal number of green cards available and sufficient demand, USCIS is failing to process adjustment of status applications quickly enough to utilize the 261,500 immigrant visas. USCIS data indicates that service centers have only approved 74,734 adjustment of status applications, leaving it practically inevitable that over 100,000 immigrant visas will go unused.

With just over 30 days remaining in the fiscal year, it is clear that USCIS will not be able to complete the adjudication of 261,500 applications for adjustment of status by September 30, 2021 to utilize all available immigrant visas authorized by Congress. In light of this, USCIS should be mandated to use its authority under INA 206 governing unused immigrant visas. Congress specified:

”If an immigrant having an immigrant visa is denied admission to the United States and removed, or does not apply for admission before the expiration of the validity of his visa, or if an alien having an immigrant visa issued to him as a preference immigrant is found not to be a preference immigrant, an immigrant visa or a preference immigrant visa, as the case may be, may be issued in lieu thereof to another qualified alien.”

USCIS must issue immigrant visas between now and September 30, 2021 to available preference immigrants, ie those whose Final Action Dates are current and who have filed an application to adjust status, to reach the annual limit of 261,500. Should USCIS later determine during the remaining adjudicative process that an individual who was issued an immigrant visa is not actually eligible for the visa, ie is found not to be a preference immigrant, USCIS may revoke the lawful permanent residence and assign the immigrant visa to another qualified alien.

USCIS could accomplish this most efficiently by approving qualified applicants for adjustment of status through a policy memo on September 30 using the discretion given to the DHS secretary in the Immigration and Nationality Act and then revoking the same on October 1. According to Section 206 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, this would allow the agency to recapture the approved but now revoked green cards and make them available for use in Fiscal Year 2022 beginning on October 1, 2021. In this way, USCIS will fulfill its mandate of utilizing the numerical limits prescribed by Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act while taking into account the current capabilities of the agency that are limited as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please help ensure my family can adjust status without wasting available immigrant visa numbers. I urge you to hold USCIS accountable for ensuring that no immigrant visa you have authorized to be used goes to waste. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

____Name_______

**********************************************************************

 

In addition to sending the above email to your congressperson and senator, I also encourage you to mail a letter to Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. As the Chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, and a former immigration attorney and immigration law professor, Congresswoman Lofgren is recognized as an established champion of top-to-bottom immigration reform and a national leader in immigration policy. Please mail this letter to:

 

The Honorable Zoe Lofgren

635 North First Street Suite B

San Jose, CA 95112

 

Lastly, please email the same to the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman at:

cisombudsman@hq.dhs.gov