Sole Jurisdiction at the Vermont Service Center
Posted Mar 17, 2000

Under the sole jurisdiction program, a company with its headquarters based in a particular INS service center's jurisdiction can request that that center have exclusive jurisdiction over all its petitions from all of the company's branch locations in different parts of the U.S., regardless of the actual location of the branch office or of employment of the foreign national employee.

In a meeting with Vermont Service Center (VSC) officials mentioned in the October 1999 MurthyBulletin, VSC stated that they had received over 300 requests for processing of cases from all over the U.S. while the other Service Centers do not get many such requests.

Within the past few months, attorneys have apparently been receiving letters from VSC requesting extensive proof of a company's eligibility for the sole jurisdiction program.

In response to an inquiry from representatives of AILA, VSC indicated that they have received an increase in the number of requests for sole jurisdiction recently, and they are attempting to get a "handle" on their sole jurisdiction caseload. The VSC indicated that it does not have the means to collect the data necessary to determine whether a company truly meets the jurisdiction criteria.

Many practitioners believe these requests for additional information are a result of companies trying to process all of their petitions with VSC even though the company is based primarily outside VSC's jurisdiction. Only companies that are headquartered within the VSC's jurisdiction are eligible to apply for and obtain approval for sole jurisdiction at that center. VSC has encouraged AILA members to provide as much information and data as possible so that they can assess the continued viability of this sole jurisdiction program.

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy will continue to provide updated information on this developing issue as it becomes available.