US immigration system to be revamped

[ScottThuy 140]

They have actually made some extensive reccomendations when it come to the change in the online system.. It goes beyond what we have mentioned above. I posted the article :

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=205297

They expect it to be in use by 2010...

For some reason that link is not working... Here is the article info:

MANILA, Philippines—The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has released a list of recommendations that would make it easier to pay USCIS filing fees and other costs.

Among the recommendations approved by Michael Aytes, USCIS acting deputy director, are: the batch filing system that would allow high volume filers to pay USCIS fees online; an online shopping cart mechanism; an expansion of payment options within the e-filing system to include all USCIS fees; and information aids to ensure that payments are submitted correctly.

Some of these measures, however, can not yet be immediately implemented as the infrastructure has yet to be set for them.

USCIS is considered a “pay-for-service” government agency where petitioners pay for the provision of a particular service. However, the current system, which accepts money orders or checks, has manifested flaws, which, is some cases, have resulted in denial of payment of legitimate petitioners.

The USCIS said that the batch filing system would benefit high volume filers, but said that it does not yet have the technological capabilities to do this. In November 28, it asked a private firm, IBM Solution, to come up with a way to provide multiple channels for high volume filers to submit benefit requests, including traditional paper applications through a lockbox, a customer portal, kiosks at USCIS offices, and electronic submissions for batch submission.

”Although these operational enhancements will be implemented incrementally, we anticipate the batch filing to be deployed early during the life span of the contract,” said USCIS.

It said it also plans to have an “online shopping cart,” which was described by IBM as a “filing wizard,” where customers will immediately get feedback to resolve shortfalls in their benefit requests and find alternative benefits for which the petitioner is eligible. The USCIS said it expects this to be available by 2010.

USCIS will also deploy Paper Check Conversion and Credit Card Readers at all Field Offices to allow electronic deposit of funds through the Federal Reserve to US Treasury Department accounts.

”This functionality will enhance USCIS’ ability to process payments more quickly and we believe that our customers will find this option more convenient,” it said.

It also plans to expand the electronic payment filing that would be advantageous to applicants, petitioners, and their representatives. More information materials would also be released with instructions to ensure that payments are submitted correctly.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/brea...ling-fees-urged

[evie 0]

Here is your chance to tell them what you think they should do to improve USCIS processes.

Help Improve uscis.gov Website

We need your help to make uscis.gov better. What words do you use to think of the topics on this website? How would you organize them? Take 30-40 minutes to do this exercise to let us know. All results are confidential. Your input will help us to reorganize the site in a way that makes sense to you. Act now - this exercise will be available for a very limited time. Please note, when you select the link to participate in the exercise, you will be redirected from the uscis.gov website.

Take USCIS's online site improvement survey

[Saddle Bronc 124]

"Revamping":

• best case, all that will be done is a name-change (or maybe department transfer), but no substantive (such as actually training personnel about new visas and their ramifications, or remodelling the system which is still showing the results of Reagan's 1986 scamnesty of 3 million).
• what many actually wish to do (unfortunately, this has proven "bipartisan" literally) is to grant scamnesty to the 12-20 million who entered illegally since 1986 and worsen the existing problems

[Thomas-n-Elena 0]

He's full of more chit than a Christmas turkey.

If your christmas turkey has chit in it you might want to do a better job of cleanin out that bird.

[ScottThuy 140]

Does "The USCIS said it expects this to be available by 2010." mean before or during 2010?

[TBoneTX 45,031]

Does "The USCIS said it expects this to be available by 2010." mean before or during 2010?

Uh, 2031.

[TracyTN 237]

[Created 6]

A news story dealing with something other than Michael Jackson? Must be a non-US source. The US media is too busy covering the more important rumors of a has-been pop star.

They'll no doubt get the same brainiacs they're using to fix the healthcare system and social security to fix USCIS. That makes me feel secure. Or even better, the Einsteins that decided to put 1.5 billion towards swine flu. How many in the US died from that? Ten I think? That's only 150 million a pop. Maybe the goons who are fixing the tax code? Yeah, that's working well.

And no, I'm not bashing Obama. It's government in general. Government never makes anything easier, it's not the way the system works. They take something, make it 10 times more complicated than it actually is, then tell everybody "it's a complex problem that you don't understand." I understand all too well.

THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION IN ATLANTA REPORTS THAT THERE HAVE BEEN 67 CONFIRMED CASES OF SWINE FLU IN MONTANA, AND 33-THOUSAND-902 IN THE U.S. AND ITS TERRITORIES.

THERE HAVE BEEN 170 DEATHS IN WHICH THE H-ONE N-ONE VIRUS PLAYED A ROLE NATIONWIDE, BUT NONE IN MONTANA.

THE STATE WITH THE MOST CONFIRMED CASES MAY BE A SURPRISE. IT'S WISCONSIN, WITH 5,861 CASES, BUT ONLY FOUR DEATHS. THE STATE WITH THE MOST DEATHS IS NEW YORK, WITH 44.

THE OTHER STATES WITH A HIGH NUMBER OF H-ONE N-ONE CASES ARE NUMBER TWO TEXAS, WITH 3,991, NUMBER THREE ILLINOIS, WITH 3,166, NUMBER FOUR NEW YORK, WITH 2,499, AND NUMBER FIVE CALIFORNIA, WITH 1,985.

WoW - You got some issues!!!

RMH

[AlanM 1]

http://www.ndtv.com/news/diaspora/us_immig...be_revamped.php

The Obama administration has announced that it is going to use cutting-edge technologies to revamp the entire US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), so that paperwork and backlog are reduced and to bring in more transparency into the system.

US President Barack Obama told a select bi-partisan group of Congressmen that such a system would be in place in the next 90 days, in which the USCIS will launch a vastly improved website.

Is a new system and an improved website the same thing?

New website in 90 days. It doesn't say a new USCIS system.

The Obama administration has announced that it is going to use cutting-edge technologies to revamp the entire US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), so that paperwork and backlog are reduced and to bring in more transparency into the system.

US President Barack Obama told a select bi-partisan group of Congressmen that such a system would be in place in the next 90 days, in which the USCIS will launch a vastly improved website.

It seems to be only the India news sources that characterized it that way. Here is a quote from SFGate:

He also announced that he was going to turn his Chief Information Officer, Chief Performance Officer and Chief Technologies Officer loose on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, which has long been plagued by backlogs and dysfunction. The agency, known as USCIS, will launch an improved website in 90 days that will allow applicants to get online updates on their status. If it works, that will be welcome news for immigrants more accustomed to a Kafkaesque world of delays, errors and a lack of information.

Yes, but why let a little truth and accurate reporting spoil the Obama-bashing party that was getting well underway?

Carry on, bashers!

So the govt announces an improved website that will do what it already does??? Trying to understand this BS and questioning it means one is bashing Obama.

The fact is the system currently allows you to get online updates/status of your case while it is in USCIS. Some people's are not updated timely but I know many more whose cases were updated accurately including my own.

What needs to be improved is the whole system ... not just the website. The improved website will only allow you to be more certian your case is sitting in limbo somewhere waiting for some action to be taken by an inefficient system under the illusion of supporting homeland security.

[ScottThuy 140]

So the govt announces an improved website that will do what it already does??? Trying to understand this BS and questioning it means one is bashing Obama.

The fact is the system currently allows you to get online updates/status of your case while it is in USCIS. Some people's are not updated timely but I know many more whose cases were updated accurately including my own.

What needs to be improved is the whole system ... not just the website. The improved website will only allow you to be more certian your case is sitting in limbo somewhere waiting for some action to be taken by an inefficient system under the illusion of supporting homeland security.

Maybe they mean that they are going to actually update the system in place so it really works as designed.. The online forms would be a great resource as welll..... can you imagine filling out everything online and printing and signing a single form and mailing it in...? They could really streamline this system...

[TwoTravelers 0]

The agency, known as USCIS, will launch an improved website in 90 days that will allow applicants to get online updates on their status.

Applicants can already do that.

I listened to the discussion Obama gave about the revamp of USCIS and here I quote him...

"In the next 90 days USCIS will launch a vastly improved website that will FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER allow applicants to get updates on their status of their application via e-mail, and text message and online"...

As most of us here know this is not true, the USCIS website already allows you to sign up for online status updates that you can check online and also receive e-mails. The problem is that it is inefficient and just does not help or work. Especially if you end up getting an RFE. The information that is provided on the website is so very vague and unhelpful. Maybe there is a plan to improve the website but since Washington believes that this online service will happen for the FIRST TIME EVER, I am very skeptical to believe so. My biggest concern is that this "revamp" is going to just cause more delays because they will probably be too busy revamping the system to do what really needs to be done which is simplify the system.

I sent the White House a letter with our experiences and I suggest more people here on this site do the same. Maybe nothing will come of it but it's worth a try. If they start noticing some force behind the group of "Legal" immigrants maybe we will gain a voice. We don't have one because we are such a small population of people in comparison to the "Illegal" immigrants, which is why news programs will give so much attention to one illegal persons sad story of possibly getting deported. That group has force and it's how they pull votes from the rest of the population... show that they care. Washington has done nothing to help stop illegal immigration but done so much in the last decade to restrict legal immigration, so you gotta ask yourself, what's their real agenda?

[sara..... 371]

I sent the White House a letter with our experiences and I suggest more people here on this site do the same. Maybe nothing will come of it but it's worth a try. If they start noticing some force behind the group of "Legal" immigrants maybe we will gain a voice. We don't have one because we are such a small population of people in comparison to the "Illegal" immigrants, which is why news programs will give so much attention to one illegal persons sad story of possibly getting deported. That group has force and it's how they pull votes from the rest of the population... show that they care. Washington has done nothing to help stop illegal immigration but done so much in the last decade to restrict legal immigration, so you gotta ask yourself, what's their real agenda?

im not sure contacting the white house does any good i have contacted them several times as well as sent our case to them and have not received a response of any kind

sara

[TwoTravelers 0]

tell u what redoing anything at that place makes me very afraid........but hey if it helps them find my case and deal with it i can wait 90 days lol

sara

I'd rather deal with a crappy website than deal with a long haul wait to get cases done. When you look at their current processing timeframes, it shows that they process H1B or any employment related visa faster than family related visa. What that tells me is it is more important to get work done than reuniting with your families. Pfff a website improvement is supposed to make things better? I'd have to revisit that in the next few month.

You are sooo right. It's sad but true. If a company wants someone here, they can get it done but if it's family related, there's no help and takes forever.

I sent the White House a letter with our experiences and I suggest more people here on this site do the same. Maybe nothing will come of it but it's worth a try. If they start noticing some force behind the group of "Legal" immigrants maybe we will gain a voice. We don't have one because we are such a small population of people in comparison to the "Illegal" immigrants, which is why news programs will give so much attention to one illegal persons sad story of possibly getting deported. That group has force and it's how they pull votes from the rest of the population... show that they care. Washington has done nothing to help stop illegal immigration but done so much in the last decade to restrict legal immigration, so you gotta ask yourself, what's their real agenda?

[HYENA 4]

I wrote the white house a letter when our case kept breaking deadlines. I've seen people apply 6 months after me and have their visa already.

It appears most of the revamping has to do with payments because that's all they specifically mention.

[ScottThuy 140]

tell u what redoing anything at that place makes me very afraid........but hey if it helps them find my case and deal with it i can wait 90 days lol

sara

I'd rather deal with a crappy website than deal with a long haul wait to get cases done. When you look at their current processing timeframes, it shows that they process H1B or any employment related visa faster than family related visa. What that tells me is it is more important to get work done than reuniting with your families. Pfff a website improvement is supposed to make things better? I'd have to revisit that in the next few month.

You are sooo right. It's sad but true. If a company wants someone here, they can get it done but if it's family related, there's no help and takes forever.

I sent the White House a letter with our experiences and I suggest more people here on this site do the same. Maybe nothing will come of it but it's worth a try. If they start noticing some force behind the group of "Legal" immigrants maybe we will gain a voice. We don't have one because we are such a small population of people in comparison to the "Illegal" immigrants, which is why news programs will give so much attention to one illegal persons sad story of possibly getting deported. That group has force and it's how they pull votes from the rest of the population... show that they care. Washington has done nothing to help stop illegal immigration but done so much in the last decade to restrict legal immigration, so you gotta ask yourself, what's their real agenda?

Has anyone gotten a response to a letter to the WH?

Has anyone seen any changes or improvements in the online system?