Is February 18th doomsday?

[Dohan 133]

So I might catch a bit of a cyber beating for this but I volunteer for a legal aid organization that has been doing pre-screenings for DACA and DAPA folk (I'm the USC petitioner and pro bono work is a requirement for me to become licensed in NY State) and let me tell you guys, DAPA is a freaking joke of an application except one thing, THE FEE. For some reason a great deal of the population eligible for this applications deems this fee to be very high and they outright come out and say they cannot afford it. Probably because living here illegaly they are not making bank, ya know.

Also, it is all about one thing "dolla dolla bills." Maybe not so much for the votes, seeing as DACA and DAPA people are NOT allowed to vote. But giving them a legit EAD means they should (being the operative word) be paying taxes because the country is in debt and they are hoping to see more money trickling into the system. I guess the votes will be of the children of these parents who ARE allowed to vote.

In a logical and practical world these new applications should NOT have an effect on any K1 or CR1 or AOS applications because as US citizens we should be getting the priority. Instead priority is given to whatever place has a US military base or whatever leverage the US government can get by doing one thing or the next.

I agree that we should not be silent and we should keep contacting everyone that we can. I am not saying DACA and DAPA do not deserve to be here, I am just saying things need to be processed on e FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED basis!

I also wish this government would turn it's eye to what is happening at home with the mess of diseases spreading that should not be spreading, but that's a story for another day!

End rant.

[brentos 53]

Hello all,

So just a quick question as I had not heard of DACA before (didn't really look before that). My wife who is a USC is about to submit our I-130 petition for me so that I can get a CR-1. We are trying to mail it out tomorrow. I guess it would be advisable to mail it tomorrow for sure to get it in before Feb 18th to be ahead of all these applications? Or could this cause a backlog no matter what because it is more of a manpower issue at USCIS and them taking people away from IR-1/CR-1 and K-1 visas to process these DACA petitions instead?

Either way going to try to make sure my wife mails everything tomorrow.

Thanks,

Brent

[msbau764 245]

Good point. Yes the May expansion is massive. Hopefully FBI and USCIS can resolve the background check bottlenecks as well before then.

The May program is where the parents who gave birth here are forgiven whatever their age. If you snuck in illegally and then had a child in last 5 years and maintained continuous residence, then you are forgiven. Affidavits may be used in lieu of evidence of continuous presence so there may be some people trying to manipulate the program.

Of course, DACA form seems to be missing all those I-485 questions about the past including public funds and there is no I-864 equivalent where they need a relative to Joint Sponsor surety.

DACA #2 and now #3 May will mean a massive new influx of border crossing who will wait in anticipated of DACA #4. Now everyone knows that we just have a 5 year cat and mouse game after which you are forgiven. 2 mean 3. 3 mean 4. You can google for some LE opinions on this. The effect is anticipated and they will be increasing presence to try to offset.

Looks like this thread is banished to the General immigration basement to avoid it being read. Just like all the other threads that question DACA effect on legal immigration benefits.

It is mindblowing that I have to jump through hoops and my fiance has to suffer the indignity of an "interview" while those who came here illegally are rewarded.

[Pennycat 880]

Question about DACA---did USCIS hire more people that time and the backlog still happened? Or is this 1000 hires in Crystal City thing a result of learning from that mistake? Where else along the line can a backlog happen and is that different for K1 vs CR1?

[Dohan 133]

No one really knows. Hopefully the new hires will know what they are doing.

[asisflyer 47]

Question about DACA---did USCIS hire more people that time and the backlog still happened? Or is this 1000 hires in Crystal City thing a result of learning from that mistake? Where else along the line can a backlog happen and is that different for K1 vs CR1?

I saw an interview of a former USCIS Director who was saying 1 - 2 years for a rampup. November through Feb 18.

This is not enough time for a government office lease and buildout rather than having a fully operating center with trained staff.

Best source of information is leaked info from the USCIS adjudicators union. Read about the telecommuting programs to free up office space.

Edited February 2, 2015 by asisflyer

[Dohan 133]

I saw that thing about telecommuting, a bit confusing. Are they going to scan all the files or are these people actually going to chill at home with immigration files?! Can you imagine how much room for error and lost paper that would be?

I hope they come to their sense and make everything electronic

[Pennycat 880]

I saw an interview of a former USCIS Director who was saying 1 - 2 years for a rampup. November through Feb 18.

This is not enough time for a government office lease and buildout rather than having a fully operating center with trained staff.

Best source of information is leaked info from the USCIS adjudicators union. Read about the telecommuting programs to free up office space.

I think they already have the building in Crystal City (I live in the DC area and have worked for the government or with the government as a contractor for my entire career)----that part of Arlington is a quasi-ghost town with big empty buildings still on a government lease (had been overflow space for the government but between the telecommuting you mention, the Patent and Trademark Office moving to Alexandria and BRAC (Defense Base Closure and Realignment)--which was basically the Department of Defense consolidating space and moving to cheaper real estate (Crystal City is right near the Pentagon and also has some of the highest priced per square foot space in the DC area)--those buildings are pretty empty now, and could easily be converted in to USCIS overflow)

The real question is --- is this really the only place that these types of applications will be sent to? If so, who really cares if they've hired enough people or if those people know what they're doing. The beneficiaries of this are pretty lucky that they've been given this chance, and they've got some sort of protection now (right?) so if it takes 6 months or 18 months to get their status normalized....ok. The other question is -- did they hire up and send the applications elsewhere for DACA or did those applications get thrown in the legal immigration mix?

[Dohan 133]

You think these people will work on DACA only? I thought it was just generally a new center... Hmmm, if they're working on DACA only then you're right, who cares lol

[asisflyer 47]

Even if those assumptions are correct. What about:

1. Training time of < 90 days by the 1,000 new staff and time for computers, furnitures, etc.

2. 20-30 day bottleneck of getting background checks back from other agencies. What if FBI delay on 4 million prints shifts to many months.

3. AP applications are being tied into DACA now. This will slow AP/EAD for Adjustment cases also. Without DACA/TPS/etc now your EAD cards would already be coming in faster.

4. Immediate post-DACA, many will exit on AP, come back on AP, File AOS Concurrent causing massive increases in I-485 filings.

5. Why would the telecommuting issue be broached if it was to be isolated to one center?

food for thought.

[Dohan 133]

I think all our musings here are futile, let's face it, I bet you even the powers that be don't have a definite answer. Why do you think they can never give a definite estimate for anything? Same thing here.

All we can do is keep complaining to congresspeople, etc and hope that our voices be heard. It boggles the mind how little this country actually cares about the citizens.

[Boiler 45,580]

These applications are self funding, but many may be eligible for a fee waiver.

Obviously it costs a lot to suddenly increase throughput. And the fees have not come in.

All we have to go by is DACA 1, which introduced significant delays.

[asisflyer 47]

These applications are self funding, but many may be eligible for a fee waiver.

Obviously it costs a lot to suddenly increase throughput. And the fees have not come in.

All we have to go by is DACA 1, which introduced significant delays.

Hi Boiler - Last time DACA has 200,000,000 dollars in budget shortfall due to these waivers.

If you read the DACA guidelines for the fee exemption they can provide Affidavits from civics group or churches of low income in lieu of proof.

I think you will find a whole lot of fee exemption !!!

[Pennycat 880]

You think these people will work on DACA only? I thought it was just generally a new center... Hmmm, if they're working on DACA only then you're right, who cares lol

Apparently that is the plan. Who knows if it will be the truth at the end of the day. DACA was a different program--about 18 months ago. That 100% for sure slowed things down for legal/family-based immigration. This is the "amnesty" program. Much much bigger.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/program-benefiting-some-immigrants-extends-visa-wait-for-others.html?_r=0

I am asking folks who "lived through that" if they know if USCIS hired up then, too? Because they certainly are, now, and it appears to be an immediate byproduct of this so-called "amnesty". I would think and hope that those applications are only going through that office but....who really knows? I'm also trying to see if anyone knows if there is potential for a backlog somewhere else except USCIS. Is the FBI involved, someone mentioned?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/26/us/politics/little-noticed-in-immigration-overhaul-a-government-hiring-rush.html

Maybe that sort of specific question is something we can get our congressmen on. Having worked in congressional offices--both DC offices and one local office that exclusively does constituent service (when folks are having trouble with a federal agency, you call the local office not the office on Capitol Hill), I can tell you that (1) calling the right office is key. Call the DC office with this and you'll get a form letter with your representative's political opinions on immigration (2) generalized complaining can't get much done. These are busy people (there's usually only 2 or 3 caseworkers per office and each congressional district has over half a million people in it), who are dealing with calls and complaints about *every single federal agency*. They don't know the ins and outs of USCIS, or any of them, quite as well as someone going through this process does. Specific questions and specific requests are more likely to get favorable action.

Edited February 2, 2015 by CatherineA

[Pennycat 880]

Even if those assumptions are correct. What about:

1. Training time of < 90 days by the 1,000 new staff and time for computers, furnitures, etc.

2. 20-30 day bottleneck of getting background checks back from other agencies. What if FBI delay on 4 million prints shifts to many months.

3. AP applications are being tied into DACA now. This will slow AP/EAD for Adjustment cases also. Without DACA/TPS/etc now your EAD cards would already be coming in faster.

4. Immediate post-DACA, many will exit on AP, come back on AP, File AOS Concurrent causing massive increases in I-485 filings.

5. Why would the telecommuting issue be broached if it was to be isolated to one center?

food for thought.

Re: 5. Where did you see that telecommuting is linked to this program specifically?

The whole government is being pushed for more telecommuting for cost reasons (less office space to lease, less parking and Metro subsidies, fewer excuses for employees to take time off etc). My old office at Department of Justice--it used to be in one whole building and shared half of another with---NASA it was? I actually don't remember. Something to do with science. Anyway, they started by kicking out half of the contractors (stopping providing free space for contractors in government leased buildings--make them telecommute from home or from their companies' headquarters), giving people flex space/shared spaces/smaller offices and consolidated into the one building. And since I've left, I've heard that they kicked out the rest of the contractors and made more people do "desk sharing" which is one person works from home 3 days a week, the other person 2 days per week and they are never in on the same days and so share a desk.

This is a really big deal in DC because it is wrecking havoc on the commercial real estate market (which was artificially propped up by long term market rate government rentals), because a lot of government workers *hate* these arrangements, and because the contracting companies are getting a little miffed because suddenly *they* have to rent more and bigger spaces--which cuts into their bottom lines. I can't really offer an opinion of what I think about all this, because my current job doesn't permit me to even admit to having opinions, let alone share them ( ), but I can tell that this is the reality here. Unless you know otherwise, it is FAR from just USCIS.