Surge in Applications Received by USCIS and Case Status as on September 15, 2008

USCIS declared that it has received a significant increase in the number of applications and petitions filed last year.

In July and August of 2007, nearly 2.5 million applications and petitions of all types were received. This compares to 1.2 million applications and petitions received in the same time period last year. In fiscal year 2007, USCIS received 1.4 million applications for naturalization; nearly double the volume received the year before. USCIS is working to improve processes and focus increased resources, including hiring approximately 1,500 new employees, to address this workload.

USCIS noted that although most offices have already processed cases received during the 2007 filing surge, a handful of offices will have a small percentage of their 2007 cases pending at the end of Fiscal Year 2008. That will result in processing times longer than the 10-12 month national average. USCIS will continue to shift resources to ensure that all local offices achieve the goal of five month processing times.

See (PDF) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Vermont Service Center Processing Dates Posted September 15, 2008

First ID cards in 60 years to be issued by UK to Immigrants

The Home Office recently announced that from 25 November 2008 they would begin to issue identity cards to UK immigrants applying for further leave to remain in the United Kingdom and falling in certain specified categories. The issue of the first identity cards in more than 60 years will replace stickers and other insecure UK immigration status documents which have been subject to fraud and the Home Office believes that the new identity cards will help protect people from identity fraud and theft and tackle the illegal and immigration abuse situation.

The card was has been unveiled today, September 25th 2008, by Jacqui Smith , the Home Office Secretary is to be issued to people outside the European economic area renewing their permission to stay in the UK as students or on the basis of marriage. The front of red and blue card bears the person’s picture, name, date of birth, their status in the UK and whether they have a right to work and the back of the card gives the person’s town and country of birth, gender and whether they have the right to UK state benefits.  The biographic details are the person’s fingerprints.

The home office expects to issue up to one million cards to foreign nationals in Britain over the next years starting November 25, 2008 at offices in Croydon, Glasgow, Sheffield, Liverpool, Birmingham and Cardiff.

Although the identity cards issued will be mandatory to foreign nationals, UK citizens will not have to apply, or carry one, until further legislation is introduced.

GOING TO INDIA FOR A VISIT OR ON BUSINESS?

If you are a U.S. citizen you require a valid passport and valid Indian visa to enter and exit India for any purpose.  Visitors, including those on official U.S. Government business, must obtain visas at an Indian Embassy or Consulate abroad prior to entering the country, as there are no provisions for visas upon arrival.Note that the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in India are unable to assist when U.S. citizens arrive without proper documentation and those that arrive without valid passport documentation are subject to immediate deportation.

It is recommended that when travelling to India you should carry photocopies of the bio-data page of the traveler’s U.S. passport and the page containing the Indian visa in order to facilitate obtaining an exit visa from the Indian government in the event of theft or loss of the passport.  Replacing a lost visa in order to exit the country can take upto three business days.

Americans wishing to visit India are responsible for requesting the correct type of visa from the Indian Embassy or Consulate, as there generally are no provisions for changing one’s immigration category (e.g., from tourist to work visa) once admitted.  As of October 1, 2007, the Indian Embassy and Consulates in the U.S. outsourced the visa application process to Travisa Visa

Outsourcing: http://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com.  Diplomatic and Official visa applications, however, are still accepted directly at the Indian Embassy and Consulates.  Foreign citizens whose primary purpose of travel is to participate in religious activities should obtain a missionary visa rather than a tourist visa.  Indian immigration authorities have deported American citizens who entered India with a tourist visa and conducted religious activities.

American travelers to India who work in “designated institutes and technology areas” will be subject to a two week waiting period in the visa application process and will be required to submit supplemental information with their visa application.  Scholars planning to conduct research in India often need research clearances in addition to their visas.

Foreign citizens who visit India to study, do research, work or act as missionaries, as well as all travelers planning to stay more than 180 days are required to register, generally within 14 days of arrival, with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) closest to where they will be staying.  The FRRO maintains offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai (known as the “Chennai Immigration Office”), Kolkata and Amritsar.  In smaller cities and towns, the local police headquarters will normally perform this function.  General information regarding Indian visa and immigration rules, including the addresses and telephone numbers for the FRRO offices, can be found at the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs web site for its Bureau of Immigration at http://www.immigrationindia.nic.in.

If a visitor overstays his or her Indian visa, or otherwise violates Indian visa regulations, the visitor can be required a clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs in order to leave the country and/or may be fined or jailed until their deportation can be arranged

Naturalization Applicants – USCIS will begin administering the Redesigned Test on October 1, 2008.

All applicants who file for naturalization on or after October 1, 2008 will be required to take the new naturalization test. For those applicants who file prior to October 1, 2008 but are not interviewed until after October 1, 2008 (but before October 1, 2009), there will be an option of taking the new test or the current one.

See here for the chart to determine whether you will be taking the old test or the new test.

With respect to the question whether the current rule “English Exemption for people 55 or older and resident in the US for 15 or more years” be still applicable?

The USCIS has responded, that the new naturalization test will not change the regulations that allow exemptions for testing based on age and time as a permanent resident.

The USCIS has stated that “the English language requirement may be waived for an applicant who on the date of filing the application, was over 50 years old and has been lawful permanent resident for at least 20 years, or was over 55 years old and has been a lawful permanent resident for at least 15 years. If either exception applies, the applicant may take the civics examination in the applicant’s language of choice. Further, an applicant qualifies to take a modified civics test if on the date of filing the application, the applicant was 65 years old and has been a lawful permanent resident for at least 20 years. If this exception applies, the applicant will be administered a simpler version of the civics examination in the applicant’s language of choice. This modified civics test is a sample of 20 civics questions from the list of 100. The sample civics questions have been identified for applicants qualifying under this exception. If applicants qualify for a waiver of the English proficiency requirement, they must bring an interpreter to their naturalization interview.”