TSC Liaison Issues for February 2001
Posted Mar 30, 2001

We are once again taking the opportunity to report on a meeting between INS officials and attorney representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). The latest meeting with the INS Texas Service Center (TSC) took place on February 12, 2001 and information on the topics covered was released on March 21, 2001. We provide some highlights of the discussion below.

"Seventh Year" H1B Extensions Under AC21

From the discussion at the meeting, it appears that TSC is processing these cases, even though at least 2, if not all, of the other centers are keeping these files on hold, awaiting guidance from INS headquarters.

Attorneys noted that some cases clearly qualifying under AC21 had been denied incorrectly. They asked whether there was an efficient way to correct the errors, without having to go through the motion or appeals process.

TSC replied that adjudications officers were being trained in the new law, and advised AILA attorneys to discuss any problems with their TSC attorney liaison.

I-140 Processing Backlogs

INS has been working on clearing the backlog in employment-based immigrant visa petition (I-140) processing. Currently, all the folks in the I-140 unit are working on I-140 cases as much as possible, rather than being diverted to other case types. Also, overtime funds have been authorized to enable them to catch up. Furthermore, some personnel from other units have received training in I-140s so they can help out. (Hopefully, these other units will not now get behind as a result of this borrowing of personnel.)

Response Time on Faxed Inquiries to TSC

At one time the fax inquiry system with TSC was working quite well. It was possible to, in a reasonably efficient manner, correct errors, obtain case status information, etc. Noting that it is currently much more difficult than before to get an answer, AILA attorneys asked whether the system was breaking down.

TSC responded that the inquiry system is still up and running, but the volume of inquiries is huge - probably because the fax numbers are available to the general public as well as to attorneys. We hope that the fax inquiry system improves since, based on the demand, there is obviously a need for this service.