The USCIS has released the transcripts of a press conference held by its director Alejandro Mayorkas on February 17, to answer questions and highlight the achievements of the previous year as well as anticipate the goals for the current year.
Among USCIS accomplishments in the year 2010, Mr. Mayorkas mentioned:
-10,000 issued U visas (which I spoke about in an earlier blog)
-620,000 new naturalized citizens
-565,000 Green Cards approved
As for the goals for this year, there were the usual stated goals of improving USCIS operation and customer service and strenghtening security measures. Interestingly, there is also a new initiative against the unauthorized practice of immigration law or UPIL initiative. It remains vague as to what exactly the initiative will accomplish.
Unauthorized practice of immigration law has been prevalent in "hot" immigration jurisdictions like Los Angeles, because it is easy to prey on immigrants who face language, educational, financial etc. barriers and thus everyday we hear stories of "notarios" and even attorneys swindling people of money under false promises and putting them in a collision course with the law, unbeknownst to them. Even though fraud is so prevalent, there has been very little that the defrauded individuals could do as recourse.
Neither the USCIS nor the state criminal prosecutors or police have shown much interest in going after these people. The most an attorney like me could do, if presented with such a set of facts, is to help the client file a complaint with the Consumer Affairs Office. And very little has come out of that! I mean, these non-attorney immigration "law" offices are not regulated at all. Only in really egregious cases have we seen the closing down of the offices, and most often than not, those same individuals pop up somehwere else, under a new company name and start all over again. Very frustrating to say the least!
The entire transcripts of the Press Conference can be read here.
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