This is in the latest Shusterman's Immigration Update. After reading it, i realized that the delay in my name check may be due to what happened to me a few years ago when i was stopped by border patrol somewhere near the border of Texas/New Mexico while on my way to a town in New Mexico for a business trip. Since i did not have my green card with me (according to the border patrol officers, the green card must be carried with me at all time), i was detained at the check point for a few hours until they could verify who i was.
The due date for AUSA to respond to me is coming up (i filed my 1447b suit on 7/6/2007), do you guys think it will help if i let the AUSA know about what happened to me at the border patrol checkpoint? I forgot to mention this in my N400 application.
5. Success Story: Overcoming the FBI Name Check Backlog
Many would-be immigrants are currently stuck in the backlog of name check requests pending at the FBI. As part of its security screening, the USCIS submits a name check request to the FBI in connection with various applications such as naturalization applications, applications for lawful permanent resident status, and applications for asylum. Given the sheer volume of the name check requests submitted to the FBI, many applicants will wait months or even years for their name check to be processed.
The USCIS tends to minimize the impact of these delays to the applicants. However, in many cases, government delays and inefficiency can have dire consequences.
When Dr. F came to our office, he was facing the imminent loss of his authorization to work due to such a delay. Dr. F is a physician working in a medically-underserved area in Arizona. He has lived and worked in the United States for nearly fourteen years in valid J, O and H-1B status. When he consulted with our firm, his latest application to extend his H-1B status had been pending for nearly eight months despite the fact that his employer requested "premium processing" of the petition. When his attorney called the premium processing unit at the California Service Center, he was told that the petition was delayed due to a pending FBI name check.
Dr. F was not our first H-1B client facing delays due to the FBI name check. This seems to be occurring with some frequency despite the fact that H-1B petitions (filed on Form I-129) are not listed as applications requiring a definitive name check in USCIS' internal guidance.
Because Dr. F's application to extend his H-1B status was timely-filed, he had an additional 240 days of employment authorization. However, his time was going to expire in a little over a month. If his H-1B status was not extended, he would not be able to treat his patients. As he is the only physician working at the facility, his co-workers would likewise be out of a job. His loss of income would clearly impact his ability to support his wife and two children who also live with him in Arizona. Given the high stakes, we advised Dr. F and his employer that we would immediately file a writ of mandamus in Federal District Court.
Before filing the writ, we had a lengthy discussion with Dr. F to determine whether there was any derogatory information in his background which could be revealed during the name check process. The only thing Dr. F could think of was a stop at secondary inspections almost two years ago. When returning from a brief vacation to Canada with his family, Dr. F had been stopped and questioned aggressively by an over-zealous and misguided border official. This officer believed that Dr. F had violated the immigration laws by not obtaining a new H-1B visa before returning to the United States. Dr. F recounted how he was questioned for hours and then finally allowed to re-enter the United States. The officer's parting words were: "I'm letting you in, but you'll never get your H-1B status extended."
We later learned that this was not an idle threat.
After filing the complaint in District Court, we began discussions with the US Attorney's office. By law, the government has sixty days to file a response to complaints in District Court. However, Dr. F's employment authorization would expire in less than a month. We informed the US Attorney's office that, in a week, we would file a Temporary Restraining Order and request for a Preliminary Injunction in order to obtain immediate relief for our client. The government requested additional time to complete the security clearance process. We prepared the necessary motions and paperwork for filing with the Court, and agreed to hold off on filing the motion for a few more days.
On the very day we were to file our motion, we received a call from the US Attorney's office. Dr. F's H-1B extension had been approved. His wife and son's H-4 status were likewise extended. The approval came through shortly before Dr. F's employment authorization was set to expire.
And what was the cause of this delay and incredible anxiety to Dr. F and his family? You guessed it - we learned that Dr. F's ordeal at the secondary inspections had been recorded and somehow came up as derogatory information in his record. Thankfully, with hard work from our office (and the efforts of the US Attorney's Office) we were able to resolve the issue with no disruption to Dr. F's employment. However the financial cost and emotional toll to Dr. F and his family were significant.
This experience illustrates the failings of our current security check process. Although it is a monumental task, we hope that the USCIS and FBI will use their resources wisely to reform the name check and security clearance process. This is needed to better serve persons applying for immigration benefits, as well as the interests of the general public.