From our AILA Houston Section Co-Chair Emma L. Ibarra-Martinez

Please welcome our new AILA Houston Chapter Co-Chair- Michele Strickland!

Michele is an associate attorney at the Powers Law Group and has been active AILA member for many years.  She has 15 years of experience representing businesses and individuals in all aspects of employment-based and family-based immigration law. She focuses her practice on small to mid-size companies and higher education, including multi-national corporations, investors, national interest waivers and individuals with extraordinary ability in their field. You will see emails from Michele and me informing you of our monthly meetings. WELCOME, Michele! \uD83D\uDE0A

Also, here is the announcement for March’s meeting please mark it in your calendars.

Please join us for the AILA Houston Section’s monthly meeting.

This month’s topic is: “The end of TPS: what can my client do? Finding alternative solutions for your clients”  

Speaker:  Nancy A. Falgout founding partner of Nancy Falgout P.C. Ms. Falgout has over 20 years’ experience in immigration law. Her practice focuses exclusively in the area of immigration law with emphasis on family-based immigration, naturalization and citizenship and removal and deportation matters.  She is board certified in Immigration by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and served on the TBLS examination committee. She was formerly Director of the immigration counseling program at YMCA International Services, Houston. She has received recognition as a Superlayer since 2006 to date. Not only is she a zealous advocate for immigrants, she is my boss and mentor.

• Date: Wednesday March 28, 2018 from 6-8 p.m.
• Location:        Central Market

3815 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77027

*Conference room in the second floor*

2 hours Continuing Legal Education designated with the State of Texas. A brief question/answer session will follow the speaker’s presentation. Questions should be general in nature. No case specific questions, please.

For more information on this event, please contact Houston Section Co-Chairs:

Emma L. Ibarra: emmaibarra@nancyfalgout.com       (713) 520-1618                         

Michele Stickland: michele@rubypowerslaw.com       (713) 589-2085

Regards,

Emma L. Ibarra-Martinez

From our Houston ICE Liaison, Elise Wilkinson

The Office of Chief Counsel in Houston is pleased to announce that on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. central time, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) eService will become available in the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) Houston Office of Chief Counsel (OCC) area of responsibility.

What is ICE eService?

·         ICE eService is the electronic service of documents between the OPLA OCC and aliens in administrative immigration proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), or their legal representatives, through a dedicated internet-based portal.

·         ICE eService is a voluntary option for those individuals who would like to take advantage of serving documents on an OCC electronically.  ICE eService is only for the electronic service of documents to an OPLA OCC and does not allow for the electronic filing of documents with EOIR.

·         ICE eService is consistent with the requirements of service found in the Immigration Court Practice Manual and 8 C.F.R. § 1003.32 and with the Board of Immigration Appeal (BIA) Practice Manual and 8 C.F.R. §§ 1003.2(g) (1), 1003.3(a)(1), and 1003.3(c).  By serving documents in a case electronically through the ICE eService portal, individuals also consent to receiving documents from OPLA through the ICE eService portal. In so doing, ICE, aliens, and their counsel, also agree that acceptance of electronic correspondence from ICE eService constitutes proper service as required under 8 C.F.R. §§ 1003.32, 1003.2(g)(1), 1003.3(a)(1), and 1003.3(c) and waive objections relating to service requirements under Immigration Court Practice Manual Chapter 3.2(c) and under BIA Practice Manual Chapter 3.2(b).

To request access to ICE eService, please visit eserviceregistration.ice.gov.  Once you have received an invitation to join ICE eService and created your account, you will find additional information, including training videos on how to use ICE eService.  For additional information, including how to register, what documents may be served, and terms and conditions of use, please see the attached brochure.  If you have any questions not answered in the brochure, or have technical issues when creating your account, please email ICE at iceeservice@ice.dhs.gov and we will get back to you as soon as possible.  The national rollout of ICE eService is occurring via a phased approach.  Your ICE eService portal will only allow you to electronically serve documents in those OCCs where the ICE eService program is operational.

Thank you for your participation in ICE eService.  We hope that you will be as excited with ICE eService as we are.  Should you have any comments, feedback, or recommendations, you may click the “UAT feedback” button within ICE eService and your message will be sent directly to the ICE eService developers.  All comments, feedback, and recommendations will be reviewed and we thank you in advance for your input.

Mark Evans

Deputy Chief Counsel

From our USCIS DFO liaison, Susan Bond

April 2018 2018 AILA Inquiry Interview Guide

From our San Antonio ICE Liaison, Juan Carlos Rodriguez

The ICE  email is undergoing an upgrade and we are experiencing difficulties.  Emails are being lost.  Group mailboxes are not updating.  We are sometimes unable to respond to messages.  We are hopeful that this issue will be resolved within the next week or so.

From our Dallas EOIR Liaison Michelle Saenz-Rodriguez

External Schedule Week of 4-9-18

From our USCIS HFO Liaison, Jennifer Mizulski

The Houston Field Office will be open between the hours of 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM on April 12^th and April 24^th, to allow customers with emergency requests to walk in to the office without an appointment and speak to an Immigration Officer.

THESE APPOINTMENTS ARE STRICTLY FOR TEMPORARY I-551 STAMPS ONLY.  NOT FOR ANY OTHER REQUESTS.

If the emergency is related to a medical reason or death, and is for an immediate relative (parent, spouse, children or siblings), the requestor must present medical documentation from the doctor or hospital on medical office or hospital letterhead providing detailed information of the medical condition and contact information.  If the emergency is related to a death, the requestor must present the death certificate or a letter from this hospital verifying the death.  If travel is related to the applicant’s work, a letter from the employer, on company letterhead, relating the need for the travel should be supplied. The requestor must also be otherwise eligible for the benefit requested (for instance, pending I-485).

If the applicant is a green card holder who has a pending I-90 or I-751, they must bring in a valid passport and receipt notice of their pending application to obtain a temporary stamp.

Please remember that some requests may not be completed the same day due to biometrics or other requirements.

From our NDA Coordinator, Graham Bateman

Today is the last day to register for the AILA National Day of Action at http://www.aila.org/NDA2018
There are still stipends of up to $500 available for AILA members in the TX-OK-NM Chapter. You must register today to be eligible for a stipend.
Take this chance to meet with your Senators and Representatives and talk with them about immigration.
Speak up for your clients.  And speak up for the dreamers.  They need us!

—

From our DFO Liaison, Susan Bond

In an effort to provide more efficient customer service to customers who have legitimate travel or employment emergencies, the Dallas Field Office will open up two Wednesdays per month, between the hours of 6:30 and 9:30, to allow the customers to walk in to the office without an appointment and speak to an Immigration Officer about their emergency request.  They must bring proof of the emergency by providing documents that will support their request.

If the emergency is related to a medical reason or death and is for an immediate relative (parent, spouse, children or siblings), they must present medical documentation from the doctor or hospital on medical office or hospital letterhead providing detailed information of the medical condition and contact information.  If the emergency is related to a death, they must present the death certificate or a letter from the hospital verifying the death.

If the applicant is a conditional resident or has a pending I-90 and the emergency is related to a possible loss of employment, they must provide a letter from the employer on the employer’s letterhead verifying the need for proof of employment in order to obtain an I-551 stamp in their valid passport.

Please remember that some requests may not be completed the same day due to the biometrics requirement.

The dates are:

April 11^thand 25th – 6:30 – 9:30

From our Dallas AILA Section Coordinators, Sonali Patnaik and Rebecca Massiatte.  

AILA DALLAS SECTION LUNCH CLE ON 04/24//2018

Topic of Discussion:         Challenging Wrongful Arrest During Removal Proceedings
Speaker:                    Jered Dobbs, Attorney

Date:                                 Tuesday,  April 24, 2018
Time:                                     11:30-Noon: Lunch and networking (bring cards to exchange), 12:00-1:30 pm: Presentation and Brief Q&A
Location:                              The BELO Mansion – Room TBD
Lunch available (approximately $12 for soup/salad bar; $15 for full buffet, includes drink, tax, gratuity)
CLE:                                        1 hour CLE credit approved

Please rsvp to sonali@patnaiklaw.com. Thanks.

From our Dallas EOIR Liaison Michelle Saenz-Rodriguez

External Schedule Week of 4-16-18

From our Dallas EOIR Liaison Michelle Saenz-Rodriguez

External Schedule Week of 4-23-18

From our colleague, Liz Cedillo-Pereira, City of Dallas Director of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs, (WCIA)

Dear Friends in AILA,

The Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs, along with numerous community partner organizations, is holding a DACA Renewal Clinic at Mountainview College, this Saturday, April 14 from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm. Attached is a map indicating where on the MVC campus the clinic will be held.

The word has spread about the clinic and there are many more DREAMERS who have registered for the event than we originally planned for.

We still need trained volunteers to do final technical review of the applications and to answer questions from lay volunteers.  If there is interest,  please email Vanna Slaughter at:vanna.slaughter@dallascityhall.com

From our Dallas ICE Liaison, George Rodriguez

The Dallas Chief Counsel has sent this boilerplate Unopposed Motion to Recalendar and Grant Voluntary Departure for use by AILA.

The most efficient manner to obtain any type of unopposed motion from Dallas DHS is to submit the proposed motion via email to one of the following individuals:

Chief Counsel Paul B. Hunker:  Paul.B.Hunker@ice.dhs.gov

Senior Attorney Judson Davis:  Judson.J.Davis@ice.dhs.gov

UNOPPOSED MOTION TO RECALENDAR AND GRANT VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE 4-12-18

From our USCIS HFO Liaison, Jennifer Mizulski

Dear All,

Below are my informal notes from the AILA working committee meeting with the Houston Field Office management.  In attendance were FOD Mark Siegl, Bertha Johnson (AOS BC), Christine Pool (CS BC), Merilee Fong (CIS General Counsel).  AILA members in attendance were Magali Candler, Emma Ibarra, James Cypert and myself.

AILA General Quarterly Meeting

1. Next AILA General Quarterly Meeting is scheduled for May 24, 2018 at 3 pm.  Please note that the original date has been changed.
2. Attorneys must line up in front of the microphone to ask a question.  Each person is limited to 2 questions.
3. Remember to be polite and courteous.  Do NOT badger the FOD or his team with the same question over and over.  These meetings are important to AILA and the FOD has discretion to cancel these meetings.
4. Nonprofits, NGOs who perform immigration work are encouraged to attend.
5. Attached are the questions that will be discussed at the next quarterly meeting.

Long pending cases

6. If you have a case that has been pending since 2015, send an email to hou.inquiries@uscis.dhs.gov.  They are trying to close out these cases.
   1. These cases include I-212s, I-601s and any other case that is adjudicated by HFO
   2. The attorney can send 1 email with list of all pending cases filed in 2015 and prior to 2015.
   3. Attach G-28s and receipt notices.
   4. List should include A# of applicant and receipt #.
7. According to the new USCIS website processing times, we can only inquire on cases filed before a specific date listed.  When asked for clarity on this, HFO stated that they’re not sure either what this means.  Maybe we can still make inquiries with HFO through the email, but we can’t make online inquiries through the USCIS website???

Emails to hou.inquiries@uscis.dhs.gov

8. As of April 5, 2018, HDO states that they are caught up on all the emails submitted to hou.inquiries@uscis.dhs.gov.  Christine states that they check this email every day and are distributed to the appropriate persons who can answer the question.  Christine also states that questions that can be easily answered are answered on the spot.

1. 1. My recommendation is that if the case is an emergency, type on the subject line in capital letters EMERGENCY and reason for emergency.  For example, “EMERGENCY: Petitioner on death bed. Request expedite processing.” Then attach documentation of emergency.
   2. Always attach a G-28 to the email.
   3. Always write the A# in the body of the email. Never put the A# on the subject line.

Emergency walk-in INFOPASS dates for temp I-551 stamps

9. The emergency walk-in INFOPASS dates are strictly for obtaining temporary I-551 stamps.  You MUST provide proof of the emergency.
10. If applicant cannot appear for the INFOPASS appointment, must provide documentation to show why applicant cannot appear.  HFO stated that they won’t issue the temp I-551 stamp unless the applicant is there (even children under 14 years old).

1. If you know that the applicant cannot attend the INFOPASS appointment, you can send hou.inquiries@uscis.dhs.gov an email letting them know and attaching evidence and G-28.  If they do not respond to your email before the date, bring a printout of that email to show that you informed HFO ahead of time if questioned during the appointment.

Emergency walk-in INFOPASS dates for other reasons

11. Christine stated that if your client has an emergency and is requesting something other than an I-551 stamp, but there are no INFOPASS appointments available, your client can walk-in any day in the morning and show proof of the emergency.  They will try to help as much as they can.
12. HFO does issue emergency advanced paroles.  Request is made by email to hou.inquiries@uscis.dhs.gov or by walk-in INFOPASS appointments.

1. Need to show proof of emergency.

13. HFO does not issue emergency EADs.

INFOPASS appointments

14. Each appointment is scheduled for 15 minutes.  If an entire family’s case can be heard in that 15 minutes, only 1 INFOPASS appointment needs to be made.  If each case may require longer than 15 minutes each, each family member MUST obtain an individual INFOPASS appointment.

Group interviews

15. HFO is working to group interview family cases.  If the family received interview dates for different dates or on same day but with different times (i.e., morning and afternoon), send email to hou.inquiries@uscis.dhs.gov to request that they be grouped.

1. Subject line: “Request group interview for family”
2. Attach G-28 and interview notices

Rescheduling interviews

16. For cases that were denied because of failure to appear for the interview, despite the attorney sending a request to reschedule ahead of time – please send an email to hou.inquiries@uscis.dhs.gov to let them know.  They mention that there were many cases in March that received denial notices.

1. Subject line: “Denial received despite request to reschedule interview”
2. Attach G-28 and evidence that request to reschedule were submitted.
3. HFO recommended that we send them an email to request rescheduling instead of formal letter by mail.

17. When requesting rescheduling, suggest a new date for the interview to be rescheduled.
    1. Attach documentation for reason to request rescheduling.

Fee receipts

18. I spoke to the triage counter and these are the instructions given to them:

1. If you need the fee receipt that day, you can file it at the triage counter at the front.  They will process your fee and provide you with a receipt that same day if you wait.

                                                    i.     A legal assistant can also file and obtain the receipt for the attorney.

2. If you don’t need the fee receipt that day, you can drop off your filing in the gray box (that looks like a trash can) inside the building.  The triage counter processes those filings and will send you a fee receipt in the mail.

                                                   ii.     FYI – the box was moved inside the building because people kept throwing trash in it and security could not monitor the box.

I-751 pending and N-400

19. We explained the various scenarios that occur when a N-400 is filed and I-751 is pending:

1. N-400 is denied because it was filed prematurely, prior to the I-751 being adjudicated.
2. HFO stops the adjudication of the I-751 and we can no longer inquire on the I-751, once the N-400 is filed.
3. At the N-400 interview, the I-751 is not included in the A-file.

20. HFO states that it does not have a recommendation on how to file N-400 applications while the I-751 is pending.  We suggested that a bright colored sheet of paper be attached to the N-400 stating that an I-751 is pending.  Perhaps this would help the mailroom or officer know to request the I-751 application prior to the N-400 interview.
21. According to the policy manual, HFO should adjudicate both applications concurrently. Onhttps://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartG-Chapter5.html, it states:

Spouses with Pending Petitions and Naturalization Applications

An application for naturalization may not be approved if there is a pending petition for removal of conditions. If an applicant’s petition to remove conditions is pending at the time of filing or is filed prior to the interview, USCIS will adjudicate the petition to remove conditions prior to or concurrently with the adjudication of the naturalization application. ^[6]

Footnote 6 states: An officer should conduct the naturalization examination even if the petition to remove conditions is not in the CPR spouse’s A-file. The officer should follow internal procedures to request the petition. The officer must not approve the CPR spouse’s naturalization application until the officer has reviewed and approved the petition to remove conditions.

22. HFO states that the USC spouse should attend the N-400 interview with the CPR so that the I-751 can be adjudicated.

Changes to the marriage while I-751 is pending

23. If the couple divorces while the I-751 joint petition is pending, HFO states that a new I-751 need not be filed.  They can amend the application at the time of the interview.

Fingerprint Notices for court hearings

24. HFO will contact OPLA or ASCs to find out how to obtain a new biometrics appointment for court cases.
25. HFO does not have fingerprint services at their office.  Must be obtained at an ASC.

Interviews

26. Please email hou.inquiries@uscis.dhs.gov if an interpreter is needed for an interview.  Let them know specifically what language for sign language (i.e., American sign language).
27. HFO is sending out another email to remind officers that an attorney must sit next to the client.  They are not required to sit behind a client, unless there is a good reason (i.e., space, blocking fire exit, etc.)

Other non-HFO news

1. More FDNS officers have been hired by USCIS
2. FDNS officers are now tasked to conduct site visits for Es, Hs, Ls, EB-5s (direct EB-5s and regional center EB-5s)
3. All FDNS officers are cross-trained to conduct site visits for family- and employment-based cases.
4. These officers have access to satellite and can determine if an office exists from satellite views.
5. FDNS officers will try to contact the applicant by phone or email.  If the applicant cannot be reached, they will physically visit the site.
6. FDNS officers, based on their security clearance, have access to certain databases to research the applicant.  They also search google, facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Please continue to send me your questions to ask HFO at our next Working Committee Meeting.

AILA May 24 2018 Questions

Thank you!

Jennifer

National Day of Action 2018!  Members in DC

From our DFO Liaison, Susan Bond

In an effort to provide more efficient customer service to customers who have legitimate travel or employment emergencies, the Dallas Field Office will open up two Wednesdays per month, between the hours of 6:30 and 9:30, to allow the customers to walk in to the office without an appointment and speak to an Immigration Officer about their emergency request.  They must bring proof of the emergency by providing documents that will support their request.

If the emergency is related to a medical reason or death and is for an immediate relative (parent, spouse, children or siblings), they must present medical documentation from the doctor or hospital on medical office or hospital letterhead providing detailed information of the medical condition and contact information.  If the emergency is related to a death, they must present the death certificate or a letter from the hospital verifying the death.

If the applicant is a conditional resident or has a pending I-90 and the emergency is related to a possible loss of employment, they must provide a letter from the employer on the employer’s letterhead verifying the need for proof of employment in order to obtain an I-551 stamp in their valid passport.

Please remember that some requests may not be completed the same day due to the biometrics requirement.

The dates are:

April 11^thand 25th – 6:30 – 9:30

If emergencies arise outside of this time frame, please follow the current walk-in procedure.