Originally posted by dengdeng
http://www.aila.org/fileViewer.aspx?docID=11035
I wonder who are those 5% ppl rated the service as "best"
either idiots or misunderstand the scale rating.
Hi dengdeng,
I think we are both on the web instead of doing any work! It is a holiday anyway. I think the 5% are in deportation proceedings.
AILA Press Release: BCIS 800 Number
Offers Immigrants Little Service
8/29/2003
American Immigration Lawyers Association
For Immediate Release
Contact: Crystal Williams
(202) 216-2405
cwilliams@aila.org
August 28, 2003
BCIS 800 Number Offers Immigrants Little Service
Survey Finds Users Extremely Dissatisfied
Contacting the Department of Homeland Security’s new Bureau
of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) is necessary for
many individuals and businesses that must deal with the
immigration process. However, recent system changes are leaving many immigrants out of
luck, with consequences that range from the frustrating to the tragic.
In June 2003, the Department of Homeland Security’s BCIS cut off telephone access to
the offices where most applications are decided, instead directing the public to use its
“800†National Customer Service Center (NCSC) phone system to resolve problems with
their immigration-related applications and petitions. The “800†number is answered by
contractors with no training in immigration.
More than 5 million applications and petitions that were filed by American citizens, U.S.
businesses, lawful permanent residents and persons seeking immigration status or
citizenship currently await action by the severely backlogged BCIS. The 1-800 phone
system is making a bad situation worse.
In order to assess the impact of the 800 number, the American Immigration Lawyers
Association conducted a survey. An overwhelming majority of respondents – 79 percent –
rated their experience as unsatisfactory, with 63 percent giving the service the lowest
possible rating. The respondents were especially critical of the systemic inability to
provide any meaningful assistance. Contractors are not trained in immigration issues, but
read from prepared scripts.
“In many instances, operators merely tell callers to write a letter to BCIS: an effort long
recognized as futile. Such correspondence is rarely answered, much less answered on a
timely basis,†stated Palma Yanni, President of AILA.
Many reported that operators gave wrong information. Such incorrect information can
have devastating consequences such as loss of legal immigration status, arrest, and
deportation.
“It is ludicrous that the only way to contact the government about an immigration case is
to call contractors who know nothing about immigration. Operators must be trained
Immigration Information Officers rather than contractors who have no immigration
training,†stated Ms. Yanni. “In addition, calls that cannot be properly resolved by trained
operators should be immediately connected to the appropriate BCIS office.â€
“The 800 number system is a failure. We urge BCIS to have trained Immigration
Information Officers answer these calls, and, if they can’t help, to transfer the calls to
BCIS offices so that individuals can resolve case processing problems,†concluded Yanni.
# # #
Founded in 1946, AILA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides its Members
with continuing legal education, information, and professional services. AILA advocates
before Congress and the Administration and provides liaison with the Department of
Homeland Security and other government agencies. AILA is an Affiliated Organization of
the American Bar Association.
American Immigration Lawyers Association
918 F Street NW, Washington, DC, 20004-1400
Phone (202) 216-2400; Fax (202) 783-7853
www.aila.org