Date post: | 22-Jan-2018 |
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Admin Processing
Alternatives to Waiting
Jay Gairson
Gairson Law, LLC
(206) 357-4218
Administrative Processing
• What is it
• How it can be avoided
• How to get out of it
What is Administrative Processing?
• A catch-all term for all post-interview processing before a final visa decision is made.
Why is Administrative Processing Slow?
• Advisory opinions:
– General
– Legal
– Security
• Fraud Review
• Supervisory Review
• Mistakes
Advisory Opinions (AO)
• Legal: Questions of law as applied to fact
• Security: National security programs, 10 known (SAO)
• General: Everything else, often procedural
Security Advisory Opinions (SAO)
The Department of State Visas Menagerie: Horse, Pegasus, Bear, Eagle, Hawk, Mantis, Merlin, Viper, Condor, and Donkey
SAO Visas
Visas Horse:Specific Nationalitiesfor A, C-3, and G visas
On Visa IssuanceNo Hold
(CC0)
SAO Visas
Visas Pegasus:Namecheck for Officials from theCommonwealth of Independent States
Waivable for DPT-00 to attend pre-ministerial, ministerial, pre-summit, summit, and White House meetings.
(cc by) Christine und Hagen Graf
SAO Visas
Visas Bear:Foreign Government Officials, representatives to international organizations, and their families
On Visa IssuanceNo Hold
(CC0)
SAO Visas
Visas Eagle:NamecheckK, IV, RefugeeCuba, China, Iran, Vietnam, Russia
10 days auto-clearPre-issuance
(CC0)
SAO Visas
Visas Hawk:NCIC III namecheck
All Immigrant Visasexcept unmarried <16
Pre-clearance
(CC0)
SAO Visas
Visas Mantis:Technology Alert ListAccess to Restricted Tech
Key Impacts: F, J from China, Iran, Russia, Cuba
Pre-clearance
(CC0)
SAO Visas
Visas Merlin:Refugees and Asylees
Pre-clearance
(CC BY) “Just a Prairie Boy”
SAO Visas
Visas Viper:Recommendation to Add
Known or Suspected Terrorists
to Watchlist
(CC0)
SAO VisasVisas Condor:Extra ScreeningPre-clearance, required
T-7: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria
List of 26: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Yemen(CC BY) USFWS Pacific Southwest
SAO Visas
Visas Donkey:Pre-clearance, requiredif Namecheck HIT/IDENT
Deconfliction
Proposed extension to all applicants from travel ban countries
(CC0)
SAO Problems
• Exponential Growth: Visas Condor, Donkey, Viper, and Mantis• Database size, difficult to remove names• Number of applicants
• Insufficient Resources• Only 26 HSI Visa Security Units: including Riyadh, Jeddah, Manila, Abu Dhabi,
Dubai, Islamabad, Caracas, Montreal, Hong Kong, Casablanca, Cairo, Nairobi• Proposed 25% expansion to Visas Donkey reviews (Travel Ban)• Proposed reduction in budget• Huge caseloads: consular officers now interview up to 120 people per day
• Pretextual Denials
Avoiding Administrative Processing
• You cannot avoid it
• You CAN reduce its time impact by preloading the case
• Preloading: Submit documents EARLY that preempt or reduce the variables that need investigated before visa issuance
– IV: Submit to USCIS, Update with NVC, update with Consulate
– NIV: Notify Consulate if complex; Prep client with strong elevator pitch (<45 seconds) including supplemental brief and documents.
Preloading
• When to preload?• Cases likely to receive additional scrutiny• At every opportunity, even when the information is not requested
• What to preload with?• Information and documents that preempt or reduce investigatory burden• “Extreme Vetting” answers
Extreme Vetting
• Proposed requests (Sec. Tillerson):
– 15 years: travel history, addresses, detailed prior occupations & employers
– 5 years: phone numbers,[controversy: email addresses and social media handles]
– All prior passport numbers
– For all siblings, children (step & bio), former spouses: name, nickname, address, job, phone, U.S. immigration status
(CC0)
Stuck! Now what?
1. Identify Reason, if possible
2. Inquire, wait 60 days inquire again
3. Escalate to supervisor
4. AILA Committee Liaison
5. NIV: Visa Office; IV: NVC/KCC
6. Congressional Inquiry
7. Mandamus / Litigation
(CC0)
Miscellaneous Tips
• DOS is not always where a case is delayed:
• Reach out to other agencies, FOIA other agencies
• Don’t get angry, do use humor (with caution)
• Be understanding & informative
• Be creative:
• Sue FBI/DHS/ICE due to their delays
• Investigate new theories
• Most consulates send emails at the start of their day and often respond quickly to immediate follow-up emails
Client Management
• Be Upfront: warn about potential delays before filing anything
• Be Understanding, listen carefully to the frustration
• Keep Informed: an informed client is a happier client
• Be Honest: “I don’t know” “I don’t understand it either” “I am really frustrated with this” “It takes patience”
• Work Together: let your client push directly on the agency, but warn not to get angry, not to threaten, and that some officers may lie, deflect, and ignore
(CC0)