Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Monday, November 27, 2017
CBP Admits to misuse of summons power
From DHS:
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528 / www.oig.dhs.gov
For more information visit our website, www.oig.dhs.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For Information Contact:
Thursday, November 16, 2017 Public Affairs (202) 254-4100
DHS OIG Cites CBP for Misuse of Summons Power
A new management alert from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Special Reviews Group (SRG) determined that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lacked clear guidance on the use of its examination and summons authority under 19 U.S.C. § 1509, resulting in inconsistent and, occasionally, improper uses of such summonses to obtain records. CBP was found to have violated its own policy on the use of the summons on numerous occasions.
The review of CBP’s policies and practices relating to Section 1509 summonses arose from an OIG investigation of a CBP summons issued to Twitter, Inc. in March 2017 requesting all records concerning the Twitter account @ALT_USCIS. Twitter responded by filing a complaint against CBP in federal court claiming the summons exceeded the scope of the agency’s authority and accusing CBP of attempting to “unmask” the @ALT_USCIS anonymous speaker and infringing upon his or her First Amendment rights. CBP quickly withdrew the summons and Twitter dismissed its complaint.
The summons authority under Section 1509 is limited specifically to the collection and examination of records related to the importation of merchandise, including the assessment of customs duties. In the course of its review, SRG found numerous cases of Section 1509 summonses issued outside of this context. Based on data provided by CBP, between January 2015 and May 2017, CBP violated its own policy on the use of Section 1509 summonses at least 1 out of every 5 times.
DHS OIG made three recommendations to CBP aimed at ensuring CBP personnel are informed and trained on the use of Section 1509 summonses, and that such summonses are being used properly within the agency. CBP concurred with these recommendations and has taken, and continues to take, corrective actions to address the issues raised in the alert.
The alert is the first report by the SRG, a new DHS OIG initiative. The SRG is a multidisciplinary group of OIG employees that blends the skills of attorneys, investigators, and program analysts to conduct sensitive reviews and special investigations across DHS.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
As CNMI Transitional Worker Program Draws Down, USCIS Announces Cap for Final Three Fiscal Years
From USCIS:
WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the number ofvisas the agency will grant for the last three fiscal years (FYs) of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program. Congress previously mandated thatUSCIS end the program by reducing the number of workers in the program to zero by Dec. 31, 2019.
Under the CW-1 program, employers in the CNMI can apply for permission to employ foreign workers who are ineligible to work in the territory under other nonimmigrant worker categories. The intent of phasing out this foreign worker program is to encourage the territory’s transition into the U.S. immigration system, as well as to bolster recruitment of U.S. workers in the CNMI.
The table below provides the cap for FY 2018, FY 2019 and FY 2020 until the end of the program:
Fiscal Year (FY)
|
Cap
|
FY 2018
|
9,998
|
FY 2019
|
4,999
|
FY 2020 (until Dec. 31, 2019)
|
2,499
|
USCIS announced in May that the agency received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the maximum possible CW-1 cap for FY 2018. April 11, 2017, was the last day that USCIS accepted FY 2018 CW-1 petitions requesting an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2018. USCIS encourages employers to file petitions for CW-1 workers as early as possible within 6 months of the requested employment start date. Please note, however, that USCIS will reject a petition if it is filed more than six months in advance.
For more information about the CW-1 worker program, visit the CW-1: CNMI-Only Transitional Worker page or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Friday, November 17, 2017
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
USCIS: Status of the Central American Minors Program
From USCIS:
| On Nov. 9, 2017, the Department of State stopped accepting new applications for the Central American Minors (CAM) refugee program. USCIS will stop interviewing CAM cases on Jan. 31, 2018. After that date, individuals with pending applications who have not been interviewed will receive a notice with further instructions. The decision to terminate the CAM refugee program was made as part of the U.S. government review of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for FY 2018. The CAM program was established in 2014 to provide certain minors in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras the opportunity to be considered, while still in their home country, for refugee resettlement in the United States. Individuals who were determined to be ineligible for refugee status were then considered by USCIS for the possibility of entering the United States under parole. The parole portion of the CAM program was terminated in August 2017. Please visit the Department of State’s website for more information. |
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Monday, November 13, 2017
USCIS Form I-102 Updated
From USCIS:
| Good afternoon, We recently updated the following USCIS form(s):
11/13/2017 12:00 AM EST
New edition dated 10/19/17. Starting 01/12/2018, we will only accept the 10/19/17 edition. Until then, you can use the 12/23/16 edition.
|
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Thursday, November 9, 2017
USCIS Memo on Functional Managers
From USCIS:
| The following Immigration Policy Memorandum is now available in the Policy Memoranda section of the USCIS website Matter of G- Inc. clarifies that, to establish that a beneficiary will be employed in a managerial capacity as a “function manager,” the petitioner must demonstrate that: (1) the function is a clearly defined activity; (2) the function is “essential,” i.e., core to the organization; (3) the beneficiary will primarily manage, as opposed to perform, the function; (4) the beneficiary will act at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy or with respect to the function managed; and (5) the beneficiary will exercise discretion over the function’s day-to-day operations. |
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
USCIS Form I-693 Update
| Good afternoon, We recently updated the following USCIS form(s):
11/03/2017 12:00 AM EDT
Update to Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
|
Monday, November 6, 2017
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
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