CIS Ombudsman's Teleconferences on USCIS Fee Refunds
Posted Feb 08, 2008
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The Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman held a teleconference January 31, 2008 on obtaining filing fee refunds from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Among the topics covered were the criteria for refund eligibility and procedures for obtaining refunds. Premium processing refunds were also discussed. This is part of a series of teleconferences held by the CIS Ombudsman's office, in which attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm regularly have participated. Previous teleconferences were reported to MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers in our December 28, 2007 article, Ombudsman on USCIS National Customer Service Center and InfoPass.
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USCIS Fee Refunds : General Considerations
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The CIS Ombudsman's representative began the teleconference by providing participants with general eligibility guidelines for filing fee refunds and information on the process for requesting refunds. Fee refunds generally are warranted when there is a clear USCIS error. In other words, if the USCIS fails to adjudicate an application or petition, or requests a filing fee that is unnecessary or excessive, it should return the fee to the applicant or petitioner. Also discussed was an example in which an individual asked the USCIS not process an I-765 application (EAD). This request to cancel the I-765 application was made immediately after the individual's I-485 was approved. The Ombudsman agreed that the USCIS should refund such checks, but understands that it may be difficult to do so.
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Procedure for Obtaining USCIS Fee Refund
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There are two ways to request a fee refund: (1) by calling the National Customer Service Center line or (2) by writing a letter to the USCIS, explaining the reason a refund may be due. While the USCIS has indicated that the appropriate form for requesting a fee refund is Form G-266, it appears that it is an internal form that is not accessible to the general public. This means that the USCIS must complete the form and send it to the U.S. Department of Treasury in order to process the refund. Therefore, no special form is needed from an individual or a U.S. employer. It is unclear what method should be used to follow up on a request for a fee refund, if the USCIS fails to act within a reasonable period.
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Premium Processing Refunds for Cases Not Adjudicated within 15 Days
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The Murthy Law Firm posed several questions during this teleconference. One of the most frequent scenarios seen at our firm involves delays in the adjudication of premium processing cases, which remain unadjudicated beyond the timeframe mandated under the premium processing procedures. These most commonly involve H1B and O-1 petitions. The USCIS is required to refund the fee if a case has not been reviewed within fifteen calendar days of the premium processing request. However, it is rare that the $1000 premium processing fee is returned to these petitioners or beneficiaries. In many cases, the USCIS asserts that it is not obligated to refund the premium processing fee when the delay is due to security checks. We at the Murthy Law Firm suggested that the CIS Ombudsman look into this matter further and request that the USCIS establish an automatic refund system in premium processing cases for which a decision is not rendered within the required timeframe for any reason, especially since neither the employer nor the employee, in most cases, has any control over a security hit.
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Conclusion
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Sometimes at the Murthy Law Firm we find that the USCIS, on its own, refunds the $1000 premium processing fee in H1B and other nonimmigrant petitions if it is unable to process the case within 15 days. In other instances it is difficult to obtain the promised refund. The Ombudsman's representative assured teleconference participants that our clients' concerns will be communicated to the USCIS. In turn, the USCIS will provide the Ombudsman's responses to all questions and issues raised at the teleconference. These will be posted at the CIS Ombudsman's WebSite in question-and-answer format.
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