Why is USCIS so Slow? From a (Former) Officer's Perspective.

[Boiler 45,522]

 

 

 

[Mike E 11,739]

The  IO (btw apparently USCIS uses the term ISO: immigration services officer) who posted this works N-400 cases. 
 

Insights I got from the Q/A portion of the post:

 

* Turnover among ISOs is high mostly because of bad managers: they micro manage and emphasize punishment for getting something meaningless  wrong versus reward for getting 99 percent of meaningful stuff right. 
 

* Marriage based N-400 cases with evidence showing both names on the accounts plus photos are the easiest cases to approve. The lack of such evidence is a high indication of fraud. 
 

* ISOs at field offices (FODs - field office directorates) get the N-400 case a day before the interview 

 

* the service centers process online N-400 cases faster than paper N-400 cases 

 

* at FODs, the least experienced ISOs prefer online N-400s, and the veteran ISOs prefer paper.  Given the high turnover of ISOs; and given the previous point, it is clear that online N-400 is better.  I will be the first to admit that this goes against my own oft posted biases (due to the high rate of errors with online N-400s).  
 

* This ISO will sometimes  RFE applicants who didn’t bring     bring the spouse’s evidence of U.S. and citizenship that the interview letter told them to bring 

 

* At N-400 interviews, this ISO occasionally reveals fraud with employment based green cards. This ISO was cagey about what triggers suspicion of fraud but volunteered that getting a EB gc for one type  of role such as researcher and then working 20 years say a cook raise suspicion of fraud. Immediately changing employers after getting the gc also triggers fraud but the ISO wasn’t willing to say how long a gc holder should stay with an employer. However (and this was new information for me) a mitigating factor can be if the employee worked for the sponsoring employer for years before the gc was issued, even if the employee resigned immediately after. This ISO advised people to retain records of employment with the sponsoring employer and have these ready for the N-400 interview 

* Waivers are reviewed and approved by committees  of ISOs. They are the among the most time consuming cases and approval is determined by a vote of the committee members. For me the takeaway was that USCIS is trying hard to avoid arbitrary decisions by a single individual that could mistakenly ruin lives.  In a sense for waivers USCIS seems to be splitting the burden of proof between applicant and USCIS, which is cool.  

 

* Managers pressure ISOs to make fast decisions on cases after interviews. I was surprised by this because we read so often about seemingly straightforward cases waiting months for a decision.  
 

* ISOs don’t get pick cases because if they did most was avoid the obviously difficult cases 

 

* This ISO admitted that there was bad blood between USCIS and CBP

 

* Some ISO roles  at USCIS require secret or even too secret security clearance 

 

* USCIS does look at all fraud tips and will stay with them until resolved. When I think how many divorces there are in general I am staggered by how much time USCIS must be spending on fraud reports by jilted petitioners.  
 

* Unsolicited evidence is looked at and can be helpful to an ISO and thus the case.   This went against everything I had believed since 2017 when I did my own N-400. Until today my knee jerk reaction was to wait for an RFE when there were errors found after the fact.  Now I believe the better course is to fix all the errors as soon as they are discovered. 
 

* most rogue ISOs (ISOs who abuse discretion) will transfer to CBP, ICE, and TSA

 

* INS and the early USCIS had the philosophy that every case is denial until the applicant changed their mind. The new philosophy is approve as many cases as possible. However some ISOs are still around from the old philosophy. So this accounts for why between two cases with thin evidence that are exactly the same, one gets approved fast as the other drags out: draw an old school ISO that case will go slow. 
 

* ISO1s obviously  get assigned the easier forms to work on. What surprised me is that N-400 is considered an easier form. You are more likely to draw an inexperienced ISO1 for an N-400 than an ISO2 who is in a higher pay grade. This explains why I see so many reports of N-400 interviews going off the rails. 
 

* This ISO does believe what many of U.S. has suspected: at NBC, cases filed before or during Covid are not getting as much priority as new cases. Regardless this ISO’s experience is that within FODs, the Covid backlog doesn’t get worked on except during non interview days. 
 

* We all understand that USCIS being fee based is underfunded because the fees have not increased (especially with double digit inflation). This ISO had a great idea: Congress should appropriate the money to fund USCIS, and in turn the fees USCIS collects should be sent back to Congress to be spent on what Congress sees fit. This way Congress would control the fees versus USCIS trying to raise them and then getting slapped down by a federal judge.  
 

* As is generally known, burden of proof falls on the applicant and not USCIS. What was new information for me was that most of the time the standard of proof required is merely “preponderance of evidence”(same level as civil suits in the U.S.). When fraud or crime are suspected the higher standard, “clear and convincing” is used. Rarely is the highest standard, “beyond a reasonable doubt” used such as  when s supervisor or lawyer are  involved. 
 

* cheating on N-400 civics tests happens more often than you’d think.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by Mike E

[Bob in Boston 713]

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

cheating on N-400 civics tests happens more often than you’d think.

Interesting. My wife sat down and he asked the questions and she answered. How does the cheating happen?

[powerpuff 6,703]

1 hour ago, Bob in Boston said:

Interesting. My wife sat down and he asked the questions and she answered. How does the cheating happen?

I believe @Mike E is referencing exemptions for certain people with disabilities. I’m quoting from the Reddit post above:

 

“So USCIS makes a change to allow people with these terrible conditions to file another form that describes these conditions, which would allow them to be exempted from the testing requirements. This is great - this created a pathway for special needs applicants to citizenship. Almost immediately, people started submitting bogus forms to sidestep the testing requirements. “

[Boiler 45,522]

Many US Immigrant etc options seem designed to encourage fraud, I always wondered why but have never seen this seriously discussed.

[Mike E 11,739]

21 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

I’m believe @Mike E is referencing exemptions for certain people with disabilities.

To avoid a thread lock I wasn’t going to get into details. It does surprise me that some people think it is easier to get fake medical exemptions than to pass the USCIS civics test. But then again the stress some have over this test surprises me. Just download the official USCIS civics test app and learn the by rote. 

[Boiler 45,522]

My impression, and I do realise that the data is both limited and often vague, is that these sorts of cases are more language related, do not qualify for the time exceptions.

 

Game theory has always interested me and it is very evident here.

[Bob in Boston 713]

2 hours ago, powerpuff said:

I believe @Mike E is referencing exemptions for certain people with disabilities. I’m quoting from the Reddit post above:

Ahhhh that kind of cheating.. More like perjury

[SalishSea 17,833]

5 hours ago, Boiler said:

Many US Immigrant etc options seem designed to encourage fraud, I always wondered why but have never seen this seriously discussed.

Totally agree.

[JISnJRS 22]

5 hours ago, powerpuff said:

I believe @Mike E is referencing exemptions for certain people with disabilities. I’m quoting from the Reddit post above:

 

“So USCIS makes a change to allow people with these terrible conditions to file another form that describes these conditions, which would allow them to be exempted from the testing requirements. This is great - this created a pathway for special needs applicants to citizenship. Almost immediately, people started submitting bogus forms to sidestep the testing requirements. “

Would it be for the petitioner or the immigrating spouse, Im asking this because I am disabled (petitioner) and I need my wife here asap. What would be the "other" form?

[Unlockable 7,314]

Interesting read. The topic on fraud with N400s and false claims of disabilities really raised an eyebrow for me. Didn't know that it was that prevalent. 

[Family 3,988]

34 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

Interesting read. The topic on fraud with N400s and false claims of disabilities really raised an eyebrow for me. Didn't know that it was that prevalent. 

It is. They now take a few minutes during the interview and look up certifying doctors..

https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/pae/News/2008/oct/malikweinervorasinghaind.pdf

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

I like that they pointed out that it's not helpful for the whole system to scream WoM right away as soon as one is just barely over expected processing times.

[Mike E 11,739]

14 hours ago, Luk Dit Mo said:

Would it be for the petitioner or the immigrating spouse, Im asking this because I am disabled (petitioner) and I need my wife here asap. What would be the "other" form?

The context is N-400.