from immigration-law.com:
Concern with Changing Management of Immigration Services
Recent move of classifying some of the conventional functions of the government agencies into non-government function and contracting out to private contractors stirred a substantical controversy in the area of immigration service functions. Despite the concern with such move, the Director of USCIS announced recently that it will open to contract bids all the contact representatives and information officer positions by the end of FY 2004. The recent experience with the NCSC which is run by the private contractors is a good illustration of ineffectiveness when an important government function which requires expertise in the laws, policies, and practices is left to contractors with no knowledge of such laws, policies, and practices of the agency.
More disturbing is the news that without publicity and notice of the public, the immigration field offices have reportedly assigned the adjudication fuctions to the so-called "term employees." These term employees are known to be hired for a four-year term in employment. Without doubt, this move will not only create a high rate of turnover of the adjudicators, but also facilitate ineffectiveness and inefficiency in adjudcation function of applications and petitions that flow from the insecurity of the job. Unlike the contact representatives or information officers, the adjudicators perform a highly complex adjudication function using their expertise in the body of complex immigration statutes, rules, policies, and practices. The function is similar to a semi-judicial process making a decision based on analysis of the facts and evidence and applying the laws, rules, and judicial precedents to the facts in each case. Additionally, they apply the rules of equity balancing favorable evidence over adverse evidence when it comes to the situation of exercise of discretion. It is extremely disturning to learn that these critical fuctions of the government are left to the term employees who are vulnerable to undue internal influence for the sake of job security. Besides, the high turnover of the adjudicators will without doubt create ineffectiveness and inefficiency in that new people ought to be constantly trained or retrained every time there is a change in term employment, thinning out the pool of adjudicators who reach the level of an expert in certain area of adjudcations.
This web site expressed an opinion, not too long ago, that the current backlogs cannot be resolved by money alone. Budget increase will not assure improvement in immigration benefits function unless there comes with the budget increase an improvement in management. It is a time for the U.S. CIS to direct its focus on review of the current management and seek expert's help in working out an improved management system that will assure efficiency and effectiveness of its performance.
Concern with Changing Management of Immigration Services
Recent move of classifying some of the conventional functions of the government agencies into non-government function and contracting out to private contractors stirred a substantical controversy in the area of immigration service functions. Despite the concern with such move, the Director of USCIS announced recently that it will open to contract bids all the contact representatives and information officer positions by the end of FY 2004. The recent experience with the NCSC which is run by the private contractors is a good illustration of ineffectiveness when an important government function which requires expertise in the laws, policies, and practices is left to contractors with no knowledge of such laws, policies, and practices of the agency.
More disturbing is the news that without publicity and notice of the public, the immigration field offices have reportedly assigned the adjudication fuctions to the so-called "term employees." These term employees are known to be hired for a four-year term in employment. Without doubt, this move will not only create a high rate of turnover of the adjudicators, but also facilitate ineffectiveness and inefficiency in adjudcation function of applications and petitions that flow from the insecurity of the job. Unlike the contact representatives or information officers, the adjudicators perform a highly complex adjudication function using their expertise in the body of complex immigration statutes, rules, policies, and practices. The function is similar to a semi-judicial process making a decision based on analysis of the facts and evidence and applying the laws, rules, and judicial precedents to the facts in each case. Additionally, they apply the rules of equity balancing favorable evidence over adverse evidence when it comes to the situation of exercise of discretion. It is extremely disturning to learn that these critical fuctions of the government are left to the term employees who are vulnerable to undue internal influence for the sake of job security. Besides, the high turnover of the adjudicators will without doubt create ineffectiveness and inefficiency in that new people ought to be constantly trained or retrained every time there is a change in term employment, thinning out the pool of adjudicators who reach the level of an expert in certain area of adjudcations.
This web site expressed an opinion, not too long ago, that the current backlogs cannot be resolved by money alone. Budget increase will not assure improvement in immigration benefits function unless there comes with the budget increase an improvement in management. It is a time for the U.S. CIS to direct its focus on review of the current management and seek expert's help in working out an improved management system that will assure efficiency and effectiveness of its performance.
