Pederson Immigration Law Group, P.C.

CBP Announces Enhanced Scrutiny of Students and possibly Exchange Visitors!

Monday, 06 May 2013 15:31 admin

In the wake of the Boston marathon bombing, it has come to light that CBP does not generally access the SEVIS records of students and exchange visitors. CBP has announced that the systems will be linked in about a week, but that is difficult to imagine! Thus, all students and perhaps exchange visitors will be put into secondary inspection upon reporting to CBP at a port of entry to permit them to contact SEVIS, which is operated by their sister agency, Homeland Security Investigations (formerly ICE). Be prepared for lengthy interviews at CBP and thus, missed flights. Allow two hours for the CBP secondary inspection.

No More I-94s to be issued by CBP at airports after April 29, 2013!

Monday, 29 April 2013 15:52 admin

CBP to Rollout New Arrival/Departure-Record Process for Foreign Visitors at Airports!

(04/17/2013) Foreign visitors arriving in the U.S.—only via air or sea—who need to prove their legal-visitor status—to employers, schools/universities or government agencies—will be able to access their U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrival/departure record information online when the agency starts its records automation on April 30, 2013. However no I-94 forms will be issued at the ports-of-entry upon arrival.

Thus, it is important for all entrants to keep other records of entry as well, including boarding passes, plane tickets, itineraries and credit card statements to prove entry in the future, in case the CBP records do not reflect an entry.

When the electronic rollout begins April 30, CBP will no longer require international non-immigrant visitors to fill out a paper Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record upon arrival to the U.S. by air or sea. The agency will gather travelers’ arrival/departure information automatically from their electronic travel records. This automation will streamline the entry process for travelers, facilitate security and reduce federal costs. CBP anticipates that the automated process will save the agency an estimated $15.5 million a year.

Because advance information is only transmitted for air and sea travelers, CBP will still issue a paper form I-94 at land border ports of entry.

CBP will phase-in the Form I-94 automation at air and sea ports of entry through April and May. Foreign visitors will continue to receive the paper Form I-94 until the automated process arrives at their port of entry. Following automation, if travelers need the information from their Form I-94 admission record to verify immigration status or employment authorization, the record number and other admission information will be available at CBP.gov/I94. ( CBP.gov/I94 )

With the new CBP process, a CBP officer will stamp the travel document of each arriving non-immigrant traveler. The admission stamp will show the date of admission, class of admission, and the date that the traveler is admitted until. Travelers will also receive on arrival a flier alerting them to go to CBP.gov/I94 for their admission record information. ( CBP.gov/I94 )

Travelers will not need to do anything differently upon exiting the U.S. Travelers previously issued a paper Form I-94 would surrender it to the commercial carrier or to CBP upon departure. If travelers did not receive a paper Form I-94, CBP will record the departure electronically via manifest information provided by the carrier or by CBP.

For more information and for answers to frequently asked questions, visit CBP’s Form I-94 webpages. ( I-94 Fact Sheet (pdf - 94 KB.) )

*PLEASE NOTE: ( CBP.gov/I94 ) will not be live until the end of April, 2013.*

Implementation Schedule:

Implementation will begin on April 30 at five pilot ports of entry and will continue to the remaining ports of entry over a total of four weeks.

Week 1	4/30/13 - 5/03/13	Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Las Vegas Airport, Chicago O’Hare, Miami International Airport and Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport
Week 2	5/7/13	Major Air and Sea Ports within the following field offices: New York, Boston, Buffalo, Baltimore, Detroit, Atlanta, Tampa, Puerto Rico, Miami Chicago New Orleans and Houston
Week 3	5/14/13	Major Air and Sea ports within the following field offices: Pre-Clearance, San Francisco (includes Hawaii and Guam), Tucson, El Paso, Seattle, Portland (includes Alaska), Los Angeles, San Diego and Laredo
Week 4	5/21/13	All remaining airports and seaports

USCIS Announces Personal Interview Waivers for Certain Family-Based Adjustment Applicants!

Wednesday, 24 April 2013 16:41 admin

This welcome change will save many family-based applicants for permanent residence the time, anxiety and expense of an adjustment interview.

On October 2012, USCIS announced that it was transferring certain filings from the four USCIS service centers to either a field office or the National Benefits Center (NBC) in order to balance the workload and processing times. As part of this workload shift, USCIS transferred interview-waivable family-based Forms I-485 from the California Service Center (CSC) to the NBC.

Under 8 CFR §245.6, USCIS may waive the interview for an applicant for adjustment of status. The NBC’s decision to waive the interview for certain cases is based on standards set at the national level, and include adjustment categories in which there is normally enough evidence to make a decision without an interview. The following adjustment applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis for a waiver of the interview (AILA Doc. No. 13011447, AFM Chapter 23.2(h).):

Unmarried minor children and stepchildren of U.S. citizens (IR7 and CR7) that are accompanied by original or certified copies of supporting documents;
Parents of U.S. citizens (IR0) that are accompanied by original or certified copies of supporting documents;
K1/K2 entrants— Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens and children of Fiancé(e)s (CF1/CF2);
Natives/Citizens of Cuba filing under 11/2/66 Act (also spouses/children of such individuals regardless of their citizenship and place of birth) (CU6/CU7);
Unmarried & Under 14 year old children of lawful permanent residents (F27);
Cases where the applicant has been interviewed in the course of an investigation or field examination, and the adjudicating examiner determines that further interview of the applicant is unnecessary;
Cases in which there is sufficient evidence contained in the record to support a denial of the adjustment of status application.

Please note that the NBC will NOT waive the interview for applicants who file:

With Supplement A to Form I-485, Adjustment of Status Under Section 245(i)
With an EWI class of admission
As part of a family packet; unless every application in the family packet meets the interview waiver criteria.