From Fierce Homeland Security:
USCIS officers overwhelmed by work
By David Perera
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Civil servants who review applications submitted by aliens to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services don't necessarily need more time to review case files, says agency management--despite many Immigration Services Officers reporting that they feel rushed to make decisions.
In a Homeland Security Department inspector general report dated Jan. 5, the DHS OIG says the officers interviewed by auditors typically said agency management expects them to complete in less than 30 minutes interviews of aliens applying for benefits such as permanent residence or citizenship. Management also expects officers to conduct 12 to 15 interviews per day, meaning that an officer could spend 7.5 hours each day doing nothing but conducting face-to-face interviews, with only 30 minutes total to review cases before the interview occurs.
But, in response to an OIG recommendation that USCIS "develop standards to permit more time for an Immigration Services Officer's review of case files," USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas says he disagrees. Instead, USCIS will conduct an analysis "of the tasks that contribute to a quality adjudication" and do another analysis of "the appropriate amount of time needed to accomplish these tasks," Mayorkas says in the official USCIS response to the audit.
Officers who feel pressed for time can react by taking the path of least resistance, auditors note, which in USCIS is to approve the benefit application and move on to the next file. Approximately 25 percent of 251 respondents to an auditor online survey said they've felt pressure to approve questionable applications.
The audit also raises questions about the agency's ability to resolve possible cases of fraud. When an Immigration Services Officer thinks an application may contain fraudulent information, he's supposed to pass it off to an Immigration Officer, who investigates it.
But, at times the cases come back with a statement of finding that states that fraud is "possible." Since the possibility of fraud is what prompted the ISO to flag the case for review in the first place, one officer told auditors that such statements aren't useful. "Either fraud is found or not," the officer told auditors.
USCIS officers overwhelmed by work
By David Perera
Comment
Forward
Civil servants who review applications submitted by aliens to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services don't necessarily need more time to review case files, says agency management--despite many Immigration Services Officers reporting that they feel rushed to make decisions.
In a Homeland Security Department inspector general report dated Jan. 5, the DHS OIG says the officers interviewed by auditors typically said agency management expects them to complete in less than 30 minutes interviews of aliens applying for benefits such as permanent residence or citizenship. Management also expects officers to conduct 12 to 15 interviews per day, meaning that an officer could spend 7.5 hours each day doing nothing but conducting face-to-face interviews, with only 30 minutes total to review cases before the interview occurs.
But, in response to an OIG recommendation that USCIS "develop standards to permit more time for an Immigration Services Officer's review of case files," USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas says he disagrees. Instead, USCIS will conduct an analysis "of the tasks that contribute to a quality adjudication" and do another analysis of "the appropriate amount of time needed to accomplish these tasks," Mayorkas says in the official USCIS response to the audit.
Officers who feel pressed for time can react by taking the path of least resistance, auditors note, which in USCIS is to approve the benefit application and move on to the next file. Approximately 25 percent of 251 respondents to an auditor online survey said they've felt pressure to approve questionable applications.
The audit also raises questions about the agency's ability to resolve possible cases of fraud. When an Immigration Services Officer thinks an application may contain fraudulent information, he's supposed to pass it off to an Immigration Officer, who investigates it.
But, at times the cases come back with a statement of finding that states that fraud is "possible." Since the possibility of fraud is what prompted the ISO to flag the case for review in the first place, one officer told auditors that such statements aren't useful. "Either fraud is found or not," the officer told auditors.
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