USCIS on Revoked / Revalidated Petitions by Consulates
Posted Jul 18, 2008
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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) responded (PDF 59.9KB) on May 23, 2008, to several recommendations made by the CIS Ombudsman Michael T. Dougherty relating to the processing of petitions that are returned by the United States Department of State (DOS) / consular officers to the USCIS for revocation or revalidation.
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Revocations and Returning Petitions to USCIS
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The return of an approved petition can occur based upon a petition approved by the USCIS when a foreign national applies for a visa at a U.S. consulate. The consular officer is not authorized to re-adjudicate or second guess the USCIS decision. The consular officer can verify certain claims and documents, however, and refuse to issue the visa if derogatory information (such as fraudulent degrees or other documents) is unearthed. In such a situation, the petition is returned to the USCIS for review, based on the information obtained by the consulate and shared with the USCIS. If all is clear, then the petition can be reaffirmed or revalidated by the USCIS and notification is sent to the consulate concerned.
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Receipt Notices Not Regularly Issued for Returned Petitions
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CIS Ombudsman Dougherty recommended that the USCIS issue receipt notices when a petition file is returned by the DOS and received by the USCIS service centers. The USCIS responded by indicating that this procedure has already been in place since at least February 2006. According to the USCIS, once a petition is returned, a Notice of Action (Form I-797C), is sent to the petitioner, informing him or her that the petition has been returned for review.
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We at the Murthy Law Firm, however, are yet to see evidence that this procedure has taken place since February 2006. In discussions with our colleagues, our experience has been echoed by others, since the matter was brought to the attention of the Ombudsman. Clearly, the Ombudsman also was unaware of any receipting procedure for petitions returned to the USCIS.
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Suggestion for National Standardized Procedure for Re-Adjudicating Petitions
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The CIS Ombudsman also suggested that a national standard for re-adjudicating petitions returned by consular offices for revocation or revalidation should be implemented, and that processing time reports should be amended to include a “REVOCATION” entry. The USCIS disagreed with this recommendation, since the processing of revocations relies upon information received by the consulates. Also, since fraud may be a reason to revoke a petition, the USCIS argues that investigations may be compromised, if information about pending revocations were disclosed. Since revocations are treated as a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID), the USCIS did not deem it necessary to add “REVOCATION” to its processing time reports.
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Online Information on Revocation and Revalidation Processes
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The CIS Ombudsman’s final recommendation was to provide additional information on the USCIS WebSite regarding the revocation and revalidation processes. The USCIS found the recommendation agreeable and indicated that a fact sheet would be posted soon.
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Conclusion
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The CIS Ombudsman’s latest efforts to improve the USCIS processes have resulted in the availability of more information on the revocation and revalidation processes. The Murthy Law Firm is concerned about the USCIS’s response, indicating that receipt notices are sent, when this has been neither our experience nor, apparently,  that of other immigration attorneys. The USCIS seems to believe that this helpful and necessary procedure is in place, when there does not appear to be any functioning method for receipt issuance in this situation. Irrespective of past practice, if the USCIS now issues receipt notices to process returned petitions promptly, it would be of considerable help to both U.S. employers and their employees.