USCIS Updates Fee Waiver Requirements

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has revised Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, by removing the means-tested benefit criteria that was previously used as a factor in determining whether an applicant was exempt from paying for filing fees or biometric services. Individuals may still request a fee waiver if their documented annual household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or they demonstrate financial hardship.

A means-tested benefit is a public benefit—offered by federal, state, or local agencies—for which eligibility and amount considerations are based on a person’s income and resources. USCIS formerly considered Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and Supplemental Security Income during eligibility evaluations.

USCIS has determined that receiving a means-based benefit is not an appropriate criteria in reviewing fee-waiver requests because income levels used to decide local assistance eligibility vary greatly from state to state.

“USCIS relies on fees to cover the costs of adjudicating applications and petitions, implementing operational efforts, and ensuring the nation’s lawful immigration system is properly administered,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “USCIS waives hundreds of millions of dollars in fees annually. The revised fee waiver process will improve the integrity of the program and the quality and consistency of fee waiver approvals going forward. Providing clear direction to agency adjudicators for more uniform determinations will help us to uphold our mission of efficiently and fairly adjudicating immigration requests.”

USCIS has estimated that the annual dollar amount of fee waivers increased from around $344.3 million in fiscal year 2016 to $367.9 million in FY 2017. In FY 2018, the estimated annual dollar amount of fee waivers USCIS granted was $293.5 million. Fee revenues account for more than 95% of the USCIS budget.

Under the revised criteria, individuals may still request a fee waiver if:

• Their documented annual household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines; or
• They demonstrate financial hardship.

However, USCIS will require applicants to complete Form I-912 and submit supporting documentation, including federal income tax transcripts. USCIS will not accept a letter stating the applicant is unable to afford filing fees or biometric services without a completed Form I-912.

As of Dec. 2, those seeking a fee waiver must submit the 10/24/19 version of this form to request a waiver of a required fee for immigration benefits. After Dec. 2, USCIS will reject any Form I-912 with an edition date of 03/13/18 or earlier, a fee waiver request submitted with a letter, or documentation of receipt of means-tested benefit to show eligibility for a fee waiver. USCIS will adjudicate any fee waiver request postmarked before Dec. 2 under the previous policy, AFM 10.9, Waiver of Fees.

The new form does not change the applications and petitions that are eligible for a fee waiver. For the list of eligible applications and petitions, see the Form I-912 Instructions. In addition, USCIS has updated policy guidance (PDF, 281 KB) in the USCIS Policy Manual to accompany this form revision. The updated policy guidance is effective on Dec. 2.

 

Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

https://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a4565-Updates-Fee-Waiver-Requirements.html

USCIS Processing Delays To Be Investigated By Government Accountability Office

Written by Tory Johnson

Applications for permanent residence and other immigration benefits are taking longer than ever to process.U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency responsible for adjudicating these applications, has a backlog at “crisis levels.”

While USCIS processing delays have increasingly been a problem, the backlog is reaching new highs under the Trump administration. 

But for the first time in over a decade, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has agreed to look into the problem. In a letter to members of Congress, the GAO said it plans to begin the study in about five months. 

This could bring important information to light and help correct a problem that needlessly hurts immigrants, their families, and employers with long waits and uncertain futures. 

The GAO announcement comes in the wake of two forceful letters from elected officials. A bipartisan group of senators called on USCIS to account for the lengthy backlog and waiting times that constituents and USCIS customers experience. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other members of Congress wrote a letter to the GAO requesting the investigation, seeking “recommendations on how the agency can best meet its statutory mission of being a service-oriented agency that efficiently processes immigration-related applications and petitions.” 

Such recommendations are sorely needed. The average processing time for all application types is up 46 percent since Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. These increasing delays persist even when fewer new applications are being submitted. 

Although the agency points to naturalization cases to demonstrate an increase in approved applications, this isn’t the full picture. It’s true that USCIS processed 18 percent more naturalization applications in FY 2018 compared to FY 2014, but in that time more applications came in and the backlog grew.

USCIS also significantly increased its fees to cover the costs of application processing. With higher fees and more applicants, USCIS should be adjudicating cases more efficiently—not at the same rate as earlier years when less money was available to them. 

To date, USCIS has not addressed nor taken responsibility for the backlog crisis. And there is evidence that the agency’s own practices and policies contribute to longer processing times. For example, USCIS openly acknowledged that its expanded in-person interview requirement exacerbated these delays. 

The impact of these delays should not be taken lightly. Senators articulated the consequences of the backlog in their letter to USCIS: 

“The delays in employment authorization applications have led to disruptions in American businesses. many of which depend on employees who need work authorization to carry out their functions. When an employee experiences an unexpected processing delay in applying for and renewing employment authorization it can destabilize a business and leave mission-critical roles unfilled.” 

Investigating USCIS inner-workings could shed much-needed light on the impact of policies and practices—whether implemented under the current administration or in years prior. The GAO has the ability to examine and expose any connections between USCIS policies, lengthy processing times, and the growing backlog of applications. 

The investigation may be able to affect positive change. In 2005, the GAO examined the then-backlog at USCIS. The agency implemented all four recommendations from that investigation and concluding report. 

While the GAO is not expected to begin its work until late in the year—and likely won’t issue a report until the second half of 2020—its announcement could spark positive change in the interim. It is also a win for transparency, recognizing the importance of keeping USCIS accountable to its founding mission and oversight from Congress. As the investigation gets underway, it could make important data and documents public, and encourage USCIS to more rigorously consider the implications of recent and possible policy changes. 

Source: www.immigrationimpact.com 

https://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a4231-USCIS-Processing-Delays-to-be-Investigated-by-GAO.html