Ganesh Ranganathan
Member
God knows what is next. No more approvals?.
Here is a news item from ilw.com
As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun to administer the nation's immigration laws, we are getting some sense of changes in the culture of enforcing the laws or granting immigration benefits.
Culture of No
Much is being said of the growing "culture of no" in the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), which is the office in the DHS that grants benefits such as green cards and citizenship. Adjudicators are increasingly unwilling to exercise favorable discretion, and often seem to be reaching for reasons to deny applications.
We are also beginning to see the same culture in the new Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP) at various ports of entry. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has reported examples of refusing admission to permanent residents; using expedited removal where parole, deferred inspection or withdrawal of the application for admission should have been appropriate; and refusing to exercise discretion or shifting the responsibility for that exercise to another agency. Our own office is also beginning to see very strict enforcement at the ports of entry. Thus, an H-1B visa holder who was out of status earlier, and is now entering on a new employer's H-1B approval notice should expect intense scrutiny at the USA-Canada border.
The new BCBP is a merger of the former US Customs, Department of Agriculture and Immigration and Naturalization Service. Thus, officers who were previously part of customs may now be cross-trained in the BCBP to do immigration inspections. They may not be as knowledgeable and experienced as the personnel who have been doing only immigration inspections for a long period of time and could be prone to making mistakes.
Here is a news item from ilw.com
As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun to administer the nation's immigration laws, we are getting some sense of changes in the culture of enforcing the laws or granting immigration benefits.
Culture of No
Much is being said of the growing "culture of no" in the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), which is the office in the DHS that grants benefits such as green cards and citizenship. Adjudicators are increasingly unwilling to exercise favorable discretion, and often seem to be reaching for reasons to deny applications.
We are also beginning to see the same culture in the new Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP) at various ports of entry. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has reported examples of refusing admission to permanent residents; using expedited removal where parole, deferred inspection or withdrawal of the application for admission should have been appropriate; and refusing to exercise discretion or shifting the responsibility for that exercise to another agency. Our own office is also beginning to see very strict enforcement at the ports of entry. Thus, an H-1B visa holder who was out of status earlier, and is now entering on a new employer's H-1B approval notice should expect intense scrutiny at the USA-Canada border.
The new BCBP is a merger of the former US Customs, Department of Agriculture and Immigration and Naturalization Service. Thus, officers who were previously part of customs may now be cross-trained in the BCBP to do immigration inspections. They may not be as knowledgeable and experienced as the personnel who have been doing only immigration inspections for a long period of time and could be prone to making mistakes.