Controlling Alien Admission - Border Control/Admission - CIS Ombudsman -Consumer Recommendations and Case Problems
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman is dedicated to improving problems in the immigration benefits process. As parts of this task, he both takes complaints and recommendations regarding systemic problems and forwards specific problems with individual immigration cases to the USCIS for further action.
Systemic Problems
The Ombudsman encourages those dealing with USCIS to identify systemic problems they encounter and to make recommendations about how those problems can be remedied by changing processes. Ideally, a document in Microsoft Word format that identifies the problem and proposes solutions should be submitted electronically to the Ombudsman office for further action. The Ombudsman's e-mail address is cisombudsman@dhs.gov, and his address is Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman; United States Department of Homeland Security; Washington, D.C. 20528.
Case Recommendations
In addition to taking statements of and recommendations for systemic problems in the immigration process, the Ombudsman also encourages the submission of individual case problems after other efforts to resolve those problems have failed. Specifically, before filing case problems with the Ombudsman, customers should both contact the USCIS National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283 and should check their case status online, if that feature is available for their petition or application and method of submission. These options are fully discussed in a separate article.
After these options have been explored, case problems can be submitted to the Ombudsman, who will forward the information to the USCIS for additional action. A specific procedure is in place for case problems. First, a letter should be written that details certain outlined case information. Although a customer need not provide this information, the Ombudsman's effectiveness and ability to help may be severely limited if the following information is omitted: the person's name, address, birth date, country of birth, receipt number, "A" number, filing date, and filing location. The letter should also detail the nature of the problem.
Second, the letter must contain some form of verification of the person's identity and the accuracy of the information presented. A date and signature must be present. Additionally, the manner in which verification is completed depends upon whether the letter writer is inside or outside the United States. If inside the U.S., the letter must state that the person declares under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. If outside the U.S., the letter must state that the person declares, under penalty of perjury under U.S. laws, that the foregoing is true and correct. Finally, if someone other than the person who applied for immigration benefits wrote the letter, the applicant must provide consent for his or her information to be released to the author of the letter. If the author is an attorney or accredited representative, a Notice of Entry of Appearance must also be enclosed.
The letter should be addressed to the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman; ATTN: Case Problems; United States Department of Homeland Security; Mail Stop 1225; Washington, D.C. 20528-1225. If the letter is being hand delivered, the street address, 245 Murray Lane, should precede the Mail Stop.
Copyright 2012 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
