needGCcool
09-04 10:10 AM
Yup, you have to wait. Do not send them anything without getting the RFE? This is what I was advised by the doctor we visited to get all the medicals done.
I have a question for you guys. My wife was pregnant when she took her medicals. So skin test was not performed on her. Do i need to wait for the RFE or is it possible to update USCIS with another I-693 with the TB test?
I have a question for you guys. My wife was pregnant when she took her medicals. So skin test was not performed on her. Do i need to wait for the RFE or is it possible to update USCIS with another I-693 with the TB test?
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beautifulMind
08-24 12:40 PM
Fragomen Client Alert (08/06/09) - USCIS Expands Employer Site Visit Program (http://www.worldwideerc.org/Resources/Immigration/Documents/fragomen-20090806.html)
August 6, 2009
USCIS Expands Employer Site Visit Program __________________________________________________ _______
Executive Summary
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expanding its unannounced visits to the worksites of employers that sponsor foreign workers. USCIS uses site visits to verify the information in an immigration petition submitted by the employer and to make sure that sponsored workers are complying with the terms of their admission to the United States.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expanding its site visits to employers that sponsor foreign workers. The site visits, which are conducted by USCIS's Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) unit, are usually conducted without notice. They are used to verify the existence of the employer, the information the employer has provided in immigration petitions, and whether sponsored foreign nationals are working in compliance with the terms of their admission to the United States. If your company is contacted by an FDNS officer, you should call your designated Fragomen professional immediately to discuss options, including the possibility of having counsel present during a site visit.
Though the FDNS unit has conducted employer site visits for several years, it has recently begun to add more staff and broaden its investigative efforts. In the past, site visits usually pertained to already-approved immigration petitions. However, under the expanded program, the agency is more frequently using site visits to verify information in petitions that are pending with USCIS. USCIS could use information obtained during a site visit to decide whether or not to approve a petition. In submitting petitions for immigration benefits, employers subject themselves to reasonable inquiries from the government. Therefore, it is crucial that employers make efforts to cooperate with FDNS officers. A failure to cooperate could jeopardize an employer's pending petitions and its ability to participate in U.S.
immigration programs.
Typically, an FDNS officer will make an unannounced appearance at the petitioning employer's worksite, though occasionally an officer may call the company in advance to notify it of an impending visit. During the site visit, the officer may ask to speak to an employer representative, such as a human resources manager, and may also ask to meet with a sponsored foreign worker. Usually, the officer will have a copy of a specific immigration petition and will seek interviews to verify the information in the petition.
During site visits, FDNS officers typically work from a standard list of questions. Officers commonly ask about the employer's business; the worksite; the number of employees; whether the employer filed the immigration petition in question; whether the foreign national is actually employed by the employer; the foreign national's position, job duties and salary; and the foreign national's qualifications for the position, educational background, previous employment and immigration history, residence and dependents in the United States. The officer may also ask about the employer's overall use of specific immigration programs. In addition to conducting interviews, the FDNS officer may ask to tour the employer's premises or examine the foreign national's work area, and may also request payroll records and other documentation pertaining to the foreign national's employment.
Fragomen is closely monitoring the FDNS site visit program and will issue additional information as we discern investigation trends. If you have any questions about this alert, please contact the Fragomen professional with whom you usually work.
Copyright 2009 by Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP
Fragomen Immigration Alerts
August 6, 2009
USCIS Expands Employer Site Visit Program __________________________________________________ _______
Executive Summary
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expanding its unannounced visits to the worksites of employers that sponsor foreign workers. USCIS uses site visits to verify the information in an immigration petition submitted by the employer and to make sure that sponsored workers are complying with the terms of their admission to the United States.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expanding its site visits to employers that sponsor foreign workers. The site visits, which are conducted by USCIS's Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) unit, are usually conducted without notice. They are used to verify the existence of the employer, the information the employer has provided in immigration petitions, and whether sponsored foreign nationals are working in compliance with the terms of their admission to the United States. If your company is contacted by an FDNS officer, you should call your designated Fragomen professional immediately to discuss options, including the possibility of having counsel present during a site visit.
Though the FDNS unit has conducted employer site visits for several years, it has recently begun to add more staff and broaden its investigative efforts. In the past, site visits usually pertained to already-approved immigration petitions. However, under the expanded program, the agency is more frequently using site visits to verify information in petitions that are pending with USCIS. USCIS could use information obtained during a site visit to decide whether or not to approve a petition. In submitting petitions for immigration benefits, employers subject themselves to reasonable inquiries from the government. Therefore, it is crucial that employers make efforts to cooperate with FDNS officers. A failure to cooperate could jeopardize an employer's pending petitions and its ability to participate in U.S.
immigration programs.
Typically, an FDNS officer will make an unannounced appearance at the petitioning employer's worksite, though occasionally an officer may call the company in advance to notify it of an impending visit. During the site visit, the officer may ask to speak to an employer representative, such as a human resources manager, and may also ask to meet with a sponsored foreign worker. Usually, the officer will have a copy of a specific immigration petition and will seek interviews to verify the information in the petition.
During site visits, FDNS officers typically work from a standard list of questions. Officers commonly ask about the employer's business; the worksite; the number of employees; whether the employer filed the immigration petition in question; whether the foreign national is actually employed by the employer; the foreign national's position, job duties and salary; and the foreign national's qualifications for the position, educational background, previous employment and immigration history, residence and dependents in the United States. The officer may also ask about the employer's overall use of specific immigration programs. In addition to conducting interviews, the FDNS officer may ask to tour the employer's premises or examine the foreign national's work area, and may also request payroll records and other documentation pertaining to the foreign national's employment.
Fragomen is closely monitoring the FDNS site visit program and will issue additional information as we discern investigation trends. If you have any questions about this alert, please contact the Fragomen professional with whom you usually work.
Copyright 2009 by Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP
Fragomen Immigration Alerts
DareYouFireMe
03-09 04:18 PM
Doesn't matter....If he is from India/China, Without immigration refrom he is screwed either way....
If he is EB2 ROW then go with Nov 2006...
In any case please tell your friend to join IV and contribute to IV.....
Not sure what you meant by your statement "screwed either way"
Also, please let me know what does EB2 ROW means. Thanks!
If he is EB2 ROW then go with Nov 2006...
In any case please tell your friend to join IV and contribute to IV.....
Not sure what you meant by your statement "screwed either way"
Also, please let me know what does EB2 ROW means. Thanks!
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flresident
11-04 09:54 AM
Contact local domestic violence against women groups. they would help you out with legal, accommodation and rest of the process.
more...
tabletpc
05-28 11:43 AM
gc_on_demand
when you say "You will be back on line in this mess."...do you mean I again need to get PERM approved from new company and i-140 and then apply for 485..??
or can I jsut apply for 485 with previous company labor and i-140 approval...??
when you say "You will be back on line in this mess."...do you mean I again need to get PERM approved from new company and i-140 and then apply for 485..??
or can I jsut apply for 485 with previous company labor and i-140 approval...??
jotv
11-19 12:32 PM
i am going for the h1 stamping first time . in form 156 how long do you intend to stay in usa ? for that i wrote 3 years . is it ok ? and my sister is also in usa .so for one question i wrote the same thing because we should be honest thats why.
here what my question is will the interview people think that i wont come back to home coutry because of 3years and sister ?
should i take any guarantee supporting letter from my parents if yes how is the format ? please answer with your experiences? i appriciate your help .
here what my question is will the interview people think that i wont come back to home coutry because of 3years and sister ?
should i take any guarantee supporting letter from my parents if yes how is the format ? please answer with your experiences? i appriciate your help .
more...
stuckinretro
09-04 10:52 AM
This is confusing. What is the source of this post?
1). It says there can be another 485 that can be filed for the new EB2 labor. Looks like a safer option.
2). It also says the dates have to be current to interfile. Needs lot of clarification to this post.
This is what I found in another thread:
"06/02/2007: NSC Procedure of Transfer of Pending I-1485 From Current Approved Underlying I-140 Petition to New I-140 Petition
• This posting involves aliens who are waiting for the I-485 applications where the underlying I-140 petition was approved but due to retrogression, I-485 cannot be approved. Most of these cases are EB-3 cases. When the same alien obtains an EB-2 labor certification approval through the same employer or a different employer and the visa number is available for the EB-2 for him or her, he should be eligible for filing another I-485 application based on the visa number available EB-2 I-140 petition. This can be achieved either by concurrent I-140/I-485 filing or if the new EB-2 I-140 has already been approved, by filing of stand-alone I-485 application.
• However, in the foregoing situation, the Pearson Memo of 2000 allows the alien to transfer the pending I-485 application from the existing underlying approved I-140 petition to a new EB-2 I-140 petition such that the alien does not have to file another I-485 application to use the second I-140 petition. For this to happen, two conditions must be met: (1) The existing underlying I-140 petition (most likely EB-3) must have been approved before the I-485 transfer is requested. (2) Secondly, the visa number must be "current" for the new I-140 petition (most likely EB-2) before the I-485 transfer is requested. Inasmuch as the visa number is current, the pending I-485 application that suffer from the visa number retrogression can be transferred to the nex I-140 petition.
• According to the Nebraska Service Center, people should take the following procedure to request such transfer of pending I-485 application from one I-140 petition to another I-140 petition:
o Request for Transfer of Pending I-485 Application to a Newly Filed I-140 Petition That Has Visa Number Current: In this situation, he/she is filing a new I-140 petition (probably EB-2 with visa number "current") with the agency to transfer the pending I-485 application and attach it to the new I-140 petition. The NSC states that if he/she files such new I-140 petition, he/she should use "large, bold print in the cover letter or with a separate, brightly colored cover page and notation 'Inter-file I-140 with Pending I-485' and include the Receipt/File Number of Pending I-485 Application, both on the Envelope and Cover Letter.
o Request for Transfer of Pending I-485 Application to Already Approved New I-140 (most likely EB-2 category): NSC asks to print the attached over sheet on brightly colored paper, and submitting it with a cover letter providing the following Information:
Name of 485 applicant
Name of I-140 petitioner (employer)
I-485 Receipt Number
"A" Number of the 485 applicant
Prior I-140 petition (1) Receipt Number, (2) Filing Date, and (3) Approval Date
New I-140 to be inter-filed
Statement requesting new I-140 be inter-filed with the pending I-485 application.
1). It says there can be another 485 that can be filed for the new EB2 labor. Looks like a safer option.
2). It also says the dates have to be current to interfile. Needs lot of clarification to this post.
This is what I found in another thread:
"06/02/2007: NSC Procedure of Transfer of Pending I-1485 From Current Approved Underlying I-140 Petition to New I-140 Petition
• This posting involves aliens who are waiting for the I-485 applications where the underlying I-140 petition was approved but due to retrogression, I-485 cannot be approved. Most of these cases are EB-3 cases. When the same alien obtains an EB-2 labor certification approval through the same employer or a different employer and the visa number is available for the EB-2 for him or her, he should be eligible for filing another I-485 application based on the visa number available EB-2 I-140 petition. This can be achieved either by concurrent I-140/I-485 filing or if the new EB-2 I-140 has already been approved, by filing of stand-alone I-485 application.
• However, in the foregoing situation, the Pearson Memo of 2000 allows the alien to transfer the pending I-485 application from the existing underlying approved I-140 petition to a new EB-2 I-140 petition such that the alien does not have to file another I-485 application to use the second I-140 petition. For this to happen, two conditions must be met: (1) The existing underlying I-140 petition (most likely EB-3) must have been approved before the I-485 transfer is requested. (2) Secondly, the visa number must be "current" for the new I-140 petition (most likely EB-2) before the I-485 transfer is requested. Inasmuch as the visa number is current, the pending I-485 application that suffer from the visa number retrogression can be transferred to the nex I-140 petition.
• According to the Nebraska Service Center, people should take the following procedure to request such transfer of pending I-485 application from one I-140 petition to another I-140 petition:
o Request for Transfer of Pending I-485 Application to a Newly Filed I-140 Petition That Has Visa Number Current: In this situation, he/she is filing a new I-140 petition (probably EB-2 with visa number "current") with the agency to transfer the pending I-485 application and attach it to the new I-140 petition. The NSC states that if he/she files such new I-140 petition, he/she should use "large, bold print in the cover letter or with a separate, brightly colored cover page and notation 'Inter-file I-140 with Pending I-485' and include the Receipt/File Number of Pending I-485 Application, both on the Envelope and Cover Letter.
o Request for Transfer of Pending I-485 Application to Already Approved New I-140 (most likely EB-2 category): NSC asks to print the attached over sheet on brightly colored paper, and submitting it with a cover letter providing the following Information:
Name of 485 applicant
Name of I-140 petitioner (employer)
I-485 Receipt Number
"A" Number of the 485 applicant
Prior I-140 petition (1) Receipt Number, (2) Filing Date, and (3) Approval Date
New I-140 to be inter-filed
Statement requesting new I-140 be inter-filed with the pending I-485 application.
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cbpds
07-02 08:43 PM
You can file Motion to reopen
more...
Canadian_Dream
03-20 11:41 AM
Most likely SSA typed in wrong I-94 number and hence the verification would have failed from USCIS. Visit the local office again and ask them to verify all the information again. They can tell you the SSN in 2-3 days if everything checks out that should be enough to generate the payroll. The actual card takes 2-4 weeks.
I entered US through Logan on Dec 12th, 2007 and got i94 till Nov 2010.
When I applied for SSN at Norwood SSN office, they told me that the immigration dept have to cross verify my visa details and confirm them back which is still not done. Without SSN, Payroll is not generated. I have to return back to India in next 1 week. Can someone let me know the contact info of immigration people. Is this common thing to happen or i need to fight it out Any input will be appreciated. Thanks
I entered US through Logan on Dec 12th, 2007 and got i94 till Nov 2010.
When I applied for SSN at Norwood SSN office, they told me that the immigration dept have to cross verify my visa details and confirm them back which is still not done. Without SSN, Payroll is not generated. I have to return back to India in next 1 week. Can someone let me know the contact info of immigration people. Is this common thing to happen or i need to fight it out Any input will be appreciated. Thanks
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bbct
02-11 08:05 PM
http://www.thedegreepeople.com/eb-petition.html
So go ahead on sign in the petition. Dont know how far it goes but atleast it does something good.
I get a message "Remote submissions are not allowed."
So go ahead on sign in the petition. Dont know how far it goes but atleast it does something good.
I get a message "Remote submissions are not allowed."
more...
snathan
04-13 08:19 PM
Hi,
I am Canadian citizen lived in Canada for 9 years. In 2005, I moved to USA on TN visa. Here is my case details.....
Priority Date : Jun-06
Category : EB2
I140 Approved : 08/15/2006
Chargeability : India
Processing Stage : I-485, EAD, AP
I485 Mailed Date : 07/02/2007
My daughter is born in Canada in year 2000.
My quastion is can I use my daughter's birth country for cross chargeability. I know this is not very common, most of the time spouse's country of birth can be used for cross chargeability. But while I was googling I found the defination on the below website....
http://www.visapro.com/Immigration-Dictionary/C1.asp
Cross Chargeability : When a Green Card applicant is subject to a quota waiting list, but is the child or the spouse of persons born in a country with more favorable quota, the applicant may cross charge to the most favorable quota.
I would really appreciate your help.
Thanks
If you can do that....I am sure most of the folks can do their child's chargeability as US and get the GC in matter of months... Anyway check with the attorney and update us...
I am Canadian citizen lived in Canada for 9 years. In 2005, I moved to USA on TN visa. Here is my case details.....
Priority Date : Jun-06
Category : EB2
I140 Approved : 08/15/2006
Chargeability : India
Processing Stage : I-485, EAD, AP
I485 Mailed Date : 07/02/2007
My daughter is born in Canada in year 2000.
My quastion is can I use my daughter's birth country for cross chargeability. I know this is not very common, most of the time spouse's country of birth can be used for cross chargeability. But while I was googling I found the defination on the below website....
http://www.visapro.com/Immigration-Dictionary/C1.asp
Cross Chargeability : When a Green Card applicant is subject to a quota waiting list, but is the child or the spouse of persons born in a country with more favorable quota, the applicant may cross charge to the most favorable quota.
I would really appreciate your help.
Thanks
If you can do that....I am sure most of the folks can do their child's chargeability as US and get the GC in matter of months... Anyway check with the attorney and update us...
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vidyakulkarni
02-05 06:26 PM
what is OCI??
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mirage
04-08 03:01 PM
For EB3 India 7% of 85,030 = 5903. And still Dates are stuck in 2001. I don't know what it take to move it to beyond 2002-2003 ?
I'm afraid if there are 100K EB3 in 2001-2004. Why doesn't USCIS come up with such statistics..
I'm afraid if there are 100K EB3 in 2001-2004. Why doesn't USCIS come up with such statistics..
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amsh
08-22 04:01 PM
Hi there,
Mine is EB3 India; priority date is Jan, 2007 and 485 filed in July, 2007 filters. I am holding 3 years of bachlers and 1 year diploma plus 10 years of professional experience. I do not see any progress in EB3 for another couple of years and thinking convert my petition from EB3 - EB2 but got few questions as follow; by the way I am on EAD now, no more H1B - so my situation is do or die :) I would not say die because this is not only the world for us.
Note: Still I am working for the same sponsered employer.
1. If I file new petition with EB2 based on my old EB3 priority date with same employer, what happens to my EB3 application processing? will that get effected in any way?
-both applications are independent of each other
2. What happens to my EB3 processing if my EB2 got rejected for some reason?
----it remains valid
3. If I get m 140 approved with my new EB2 filing; what kind of risks I have porting EB3 485 to EB2 file?
---No risk
4. What all the requirements filing EB2 for converting from EB3?
------5 years of progressive experience or post graduate degree and the job for which you are working for requires that .
I would really appreciate your answers.
Thanks,
Matt.
Hi Matt
Mine is EB3 India; priority date is Jan, 2007 and 485 filed in July, 2007 filters. I am holding 3 years of bachlers and 1 year diploma plus 10 years of professional experience. I do not see any progress in EB3 for another couple of years and thinking convert my petition from EB3 - EB2 but got few questions as follow; by the way I am on EAD now, no more H1B - so my situation is do or die :) I would not say die because this is not only the world for us.
Note: Still I am working for the same sponsered employer.
1. If I file new petition with EB2 based on my old EB3 priority date with same employer, what happens to my EB3 application processing? will that get effected in any way?
-both applications are independent of each other
2. What happens to my EB3 processing if my EB2 got rejected for some reason?
----it remains valid
3. If I get m 140 approved with my new EB2 filing; what kind of risks I have porting EB3 485 to EB2 file?
---No risk
4. What all the requirements filing EB2 for converting from EB3?
------5 years of progressive experience or post graduate degree and the job for which you are working for requires that .
I would really appreciate your answers.
Thanks,
Matt.
Hi Matt
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thomachan72
11-23 02:40 PM
Makes perfect sense. Hopefully one day Indian and chinese EB applicants will have the complete backing of the immigrant citizens from these countries. If that happens then EB voice will be heard. Until then we can take comfort in reading such articles:o:o
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raj2007
04-02 09:25 PM
My employer recd an RFE on Jan 8. The Requested Evidence is supposed to be provided in 12 weeks from the date of the RFE letter(Jan 8).
I am told that my attorny didn't respond to this RFE. Is it 84 days which means till April 2nd is the deadline when it is supposed to be answered. If that is the case I crossed the deadline by a day or two.
Can you experienced folks let me know if I crossed the deadline. Is there still a room to answer the ability to pay RFE?
my employer said he would answer RFE (ability to pay) if some financial adjustments are made. Is it ok and make this financial adjustment so that he can responde to the RFE inspite of the 12 week deadline just passed.
Will a delayed response for RFE for couple of days at USCIS does matter? Will they reject the evidence if they dont recieve in time?
Is it better to wait till the I140 is denied and then open an MTR? How easy and practical is it to open an MTR and successfully plead for the I140 approval?
Your early response helps me take a decision.
I have already filed 485 based on this RFE pending I140. that will go waste if I140 is denied.
Your attorney can tell if they accept late RFE reply. 12 week is enough time and I don't see anybody want to delay this.
MTR decision takes long time, around 1 year or more but you can't use 485 benefits till that is approved.
I am told that my attorny didn't respond to this RFE. Is it 84 days which means till April 2nd is the deadline when it is supposed to be answered. If that is the case I crossed the deadline by a day or two.
Can you experienced folks let me know if I crossed the deadline. Is there still a room to answer the ability to pay RFE?
my employer said he would answer RFE (ability to pay) if some financial adjustments are made. Is it ok and make this financial adjustment so that he can responde to the RFE inspite of the 12 week deadline just passed.
Will a delayed response for RFE for couple of days at USCIS does matter? Will they reject the evidence if they dont recieve in time?
Is it better to wait till the I140 is denied and then open an MTR? How easy and practical is it to open an MTR and successfully plead for the I140 approval?
Your early response helps me take a decision.
I have already filed 485 based on this RFE pending I140. that will go waste if I140 is denied.
Your attorney can tell if they accept late RFE reply. 12 week is enough time and I don't see anybody want to delay this.
MTR decision takes long time, around 1 year or more but you can't use 485 benefits till that is approved.
more...
makeup So what if Nicki Minaj MAY be
atlfp
04-11 03:52 PM
I think I should apologize for being not careful about the tone. It was just an thought poping out of my head anyway. Also I want to clarify that I do understand and realize how much work IV has done. It's a tremendous amount of sacrifice that not everybody can or willing to afford. I believe most other visitors/members think the same way.
CCC,
Wonderful to hear from a contributing member and thanks for the warm words.
IV has no interest in curbing free speech. All we ask is that new members go through forum posts and resource docs to see what IV has said on a given subject, and also realize that we have done our homework. How about asking us if we have considered an issue rather than telling us what to do (without much research) -- which is the tone that some new member posts take.
As for not responding to theories -- well they just take on a life of their own if we don't respond. :) IV has no intention of letting its forums become a chaotic space with misinformation and assorted half-baked theories. :)
best,
Berkeleybee
CCC,
Wonderful to hear from a contributing member and thanks for the warm words.
IV has no interest in curbing free speech. All we ask is that new members go through forum posts and resource docs to see what IV has said on a given subject, and also realize that we have done our homework. How about asking us if we have considered an issue rather than telling us what to do (without much research) -- which is the tone that some new member posts take.
As for not responding to theories -- well they just take on a life of their own if we don't respond. :) IV has no intention of letting its forums become a chaotic space with misinformation and assorted half-baked theories. :)
best,
Berkeleybee
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radhikac
07-17 06:47 PM
I think we should organize a blood donation campaign for saying thank you. Something very constructive and should get medias attention and put IV in a positive and innovative light.
What do you all think?
What do you all think?
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GodHelpUs
03-21 10:48 AM
I am really shocked on looking at this article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/nyregion/21immigrant.html?hp
An Agent, a Green Card, and a Demand for Sex
Article Tools Sponsored By
By NINA BERNSTEIN
Published: March 21, 2008
No problems so far, the immigration agent told the American citizen and his 22-year-old Colombian wife at her green card interview in December. After he stapled one of their wedding photos to her application for legal permanent residency, he had just one more question: What was her cellphone number?
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Uli Seit for The New York Times
Isaac R. Baichu, 46, an adjudicator for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, was arrested after he met with a green card applicant at the Flagship Restaurant, a diner in Queens. He is charged with coercing oral sex from her.
Audio A Secret Recording
Enlarge This Image
Uli Seit for The New York Times
The Flagship Restaurant, where Mr. Baichu met with a green card applicant.
The calls from the agent started three days later. He hinted, she said, at his power to derail her life and deport her relatives, alluding to a brush she had with the law before her marriage. He summoned her to a private meeting. And at noon on Dec. 21, in a parked car on Queens Boulevard, he named his price � not realizing that she was recording everything on the cellphone in her purse.
�I want sex,� he said on the recording. �One or two times. That�s all. You get your green card. You won�t have to see me anymore.�
She reluctantly agreed to a future meeting. But when she tried to leave his car, he demanded oral sex �now,� to �know that you�re serious.� And despite her protests, she said, he got his way.
The 16-minute recording, which the woman first took to The New York Times and then to the Queens district attorney, suggests the vast power of low-level immigration law enforcers, and a growing desperation on the part of immigrants seeking legal status. The aftermath, which included the arrest of an immigration agent last week, underscores the difficulty and danger of making a complaint, even in the rare case when abuse of power may have been caught on tape.
No one knows how widespread sexual blackmail is, but the case echoes other instances of sexual coercion that have surfaced in recent years, including agents criminally charged in Atlanta, Miami and Santa Ana, Calif. And it raises broader questions about the system�s vulnerability to corruption at a time when millions of noncitizens live in a kind of legal no-man�s land, increasingly fearful of seeking the law�s protection.
The agent arrested last week, Isaac R. Baichu, 46, himself an immigrant from Guyana, handled some 8,000 green card applications during his three years as an adjudicator in the Garden City, N.Y., office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the federal Department of Homeland Security. He pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges of coercing the young woman to perform oral sex, and of promising to help her secure immigration papers in exchange for further sexual favors. If convicted, he will face up to seven years in prison.
His agency has suspended him with pay, and the inspector general of Homeland Security is reviewing his other cases, a spokesman said Wednesday. Prosecutors, who say they recorded a meeting between Mr. Baichu and the woman on March 11 at which he made similar demands for sex, urge any other victims to come forward.
Money, not sex, is the more common currency of corruption in immigration, but according to Congressional testimony in 2006 by Michael Maxwell, former director of the agency�s internal investigations, more than 3,000 backlogged complaints of employee misconduct had gone uninvestigated for lack of staff, including 528 involving criminal allegations.
The agency says it has tripled its investigative staff since then, and counts only 165 serious complaints pending. But it stopped posting an e-mail address and phone number for such complaints last year, said Jan Lane, chief of security and integrity, because it lacks the staff to cull the thousands of mostly irrelevant messages that resulted. Immigrants, she advised, should report wrongdoing to any law enforcement agency they trust.
The young woman in Queens, whose name is being withheld because the authorities consider her the victim of a sex crime, did not even tell her husband what had happened. Two weeks after the meeting in the car, finding no way to make a confidential complaint to the immigration agency and afraid to go to the police, she and two older female relatives took the recording to The Times.
Reasons to Worry
A slim, shy woman who looks like a teenager, she said she had spent recent months baby-sitting for relatives in Queens, crying over the deaths of her two brothers back in Cali, Colombia, and longing for the right stamp in her passport � one that would let her return to the United States if she visited her family.
She came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2004 and overstayed. When she married an American citizen a year ago, the law allowed her to apply to �adjust� her illegal status. But unless her green card application was approved, she could not visit her parents or her brothers� graves and then legally re-enter the United States. And if her application was denied, she would face deportation.
She had another reason to be fearful, and not only for herself. About 15 months ago, she said, an acquaintance hired her and two female relatives in New York to carry $12,000 in cash to the bank. The three women, all living in the country illegally, were arrested on the street by customs officers apparently acting on a tip in a money-laundering investigation. After determining that the women had no useful information, the officers released them.
But the closed investigation file had showed up in the computer when she applied for a green card, Mr. Baichu told her in December; until he obtained the file and dealt with it, her application would not be approved. If she defied him, she feared, he could summon immigration enforcement agents to take her relatives to detention.
So instead of calling the police, she turned on the video recorder in her cellphone, put the phone in her purse and walked to meet the agent. Two family members said they watched anxiously from their parked car as she disappeared behind the tinted windows of his red Lexus.
�We were worried that the guy would take off, take her away and do something to her,� the woman�s widowed sister-in-law said in Spanish.
As the recorder captured the agent�s words and a lilting Guyanese accent, he laid out his terms in an easy, almost paternal style. He would not ask too much, he said: sex �once or twice,� visits to his home in the Bronx, perhaps a link to other Colombians who needed his help with their immigration problems.
In shaky English, the woman expressed reluctance, and questioned how she could be sure he would keep his word.
�If I do it, it�s like very hard for me, because I have my husband, and I really fall in love with him,� she said.
The agent insisted that she had to trust him. �I wouldn�t ask you to do something for me if I can�t do something for you, right?� he said, and reasoned, �Nobody going to help you for nothing,� noting that she had no money.
He described himself as the single father of a 10-year-old daughter, telling her, �I need love, too,� and predicting, �You will get to like me because I�m a nice guy.�
Repeatedly, she responded �O.K.,� without conviction. At one point he thanked her for showing up, saying, �I know you feel very scared.�
Finally, she tried to leave. �Let me go because I tell my husband I come home,� she said.
His reply, the recording shows, was a blunt demand for oral sex.
�Right now? No!� she protested. �No, no, right now I can�t.�
He insisted, cajoled, even empathized. �I came from a different country, too,� he said. �I got my green card just like you.�
Then, she said, he grabbed her. During the speechless minute that follows on the recording, she said she yielded to his demand out of fear that he would use his authority against her.
How Much Corruption?
The charges against Mr. Baichu, who became a United States citizen in 1991 and earns roughly $50,000 a year, appear to be part of a larger pattern, according to government records and interviews.
Mr. Maxwell, the immigration agency�s former chief investigator, told Congress in 2006 that internal corruption was �rampant,� and that employees faced constant temptations to commit crime.
�It is only a small step from granting a discretionary waiver of an eligibility rule to asking for a favor or taking a bribe in exchange for granting that waiver,� he contended. �Once an employee learns he can get away with low-level corruption and still advance up the ranks, he or she becomes more brazen.�
�Despite our best efforts there are always people ready to use their position for personal gain or personal pleasure,� said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. �Our responsibility is to ferret them out.�
When the Queens woman came to The Times with her recording on Jan. 3, she was afraid of retaliation from the agent, and uncertain about making a criminal complaint, though she had an appointment the next day at the Queens district attorney�s office.
Mr. Baichu was arrested as he emerged from the diner and headed to his car, wearing much gold and diamond jewelry, prosecutors said. Later released on $15,000 bail, Mr. Baichu referred calls for comment to his lawyer, Sally Attia, who said he did not have authority to grant or deny green card petitions without his supervisor�s approval.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/nyregion/21immigrant.html?hp
An Agent, a Green Card, and a Demand for Sex
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By NINA BERNSTEIN
Published: March 21, 2008
No problems so far, the immigration agent told the American citizen and his 22-year-old Colombian wife at her green card interview in December. After he stapled one of their wedding photos to her application for legal permanent residency, he had just one more question: What was her cellphone number?
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Uli Seit for The New York Times
Isaac R. Baichu, 46, an adjudicator for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, was arrested after he met with a green card applicant at the Flagship Restaurant, a diner in Queens. He is charged with coercing oral sex from her.
Audio A Secret Recording
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Uli Seit for The New York Times
The Flagship Restaurant, where Mr. Baichu met with a green card applicant.
The calls from the agent started three days later. He hinted, she said, at his power to derail her life and deport her relatives, alluding to a brush she had with the law before her marriage. He summoned her to a private meeting. And at noon on Dec. 21, in a parked car on Queens Boulevard, he named his price � not realizing that she was recording everything on the cellphone in her purse.
�I want sex,� he said on the recording. �One or two times. That�s all. You get your green card. You won�t have to see me anymore.�
She reluctantly agreed to a future meeting. But when she tried to leave his car, he demanded oral sex �now,� to �know that you�re serious.� And despite her protests, she said, he got his way.
The 16-minute recording, which the woman first took to The New York Times and then to the Queens district attorney, suggests the vast power of low-level immigration law enforcers, and a growing desperation on the part of immigrants seeking legal status. The aftermath, which included the arrest of an immigration agent last week, underscores the difficulty and danger of making a complaint, even in the rare case when abuse of power may have been caught on tape.
No one knows how widespread sexual blackmail is, but the case echoes other instances of sexual coercion that have surfaced in recent years, including agents criminally charged in Atlanta, Miami and Santa Ana, Calif. And it raises broader questions about the system�s vulnerability to corruption at a time when millions of noncitizens live in a kind of legal no-man�s land, increasingly fearful of seeking the law�s protection.
The agent arrested last week, Isaac R. Baichu, 46, himself an immigrant from Guyana, handled some 8,000 green card applications during his three years as an adjudicator in the Garden City, N.Y., office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the federal Department of Homeland Security. He pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges of coercing the young woman to perform oral sex, and of promising to help her secure immigration papers in exchange for further sexual favors. If convicted, he will face up to seven years in prison.
His agency has suspended him with pay, and the inspector general of Homeland Security is reviewing his other cases, a spokesman said Wednesday. Prosecutors, who say they recorded a meeting between Mr. Baichu and the woman on March 11 at which he made similar demands for sex, urge any other victims to come forward.
Money, not sex, is the more common currency of corruption in immigration, but according to Congressional testimony in 2006 by Michael Maxwell, former director of the agency�s internal investigations, more than 3,000 backlogged complaints of employee misconduct had gone uninvestigated for lack of staff, including 528 involving criminal allegations.
The agency says it has tripled its investigative staff since then, and counts only 165 serious complaints pending. But it stopped posting an e-mail address and phone number for such complaints last year, said Jan Lane, chief of security and integrity, because it lacks the staff to cull the thousands of mostly irrelevant messages that resulted. Immigrants, she advised, should report wrongdoing to any law enforcement agency they trust.
The young woman in Queens, whose name is being withheld because the authorities consider her the victim of a sex crime, did not even tell her husband what had happened. Two weeks after the meeting in the car, finding no way to make a confidential complaint to the immigration agency and afraid to go to the police, she and two older female relatives took the recording to The Times.
Reasons to Worry
A slim, shy woman who looks like a teenager, she said she had spent recent months baby-sitting for relatives in Queens, crying over the deaths of her two brothers back in Cali, Colombia, and longing for the right stamp in her passport � one that would let her return to the United States if she visited her family.
She came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2004 and overstayed. When she married an American citizen a year ago, the law allowed her to apply to �adjust� her illegal status. But unless her green card application was approved, she could not visit her parents or her brothers� graves and then legally re-enter the United States. And if her application was denied, she would face deportation.
She had another reason to be fearful, and not only for herself. About 15 months ago, she said, an acquaintance hired her and two female relatives in New York to carry $12,000 in cash to the bank. The three women, all living in the country illegally, were arrested on the street by customs officers apparently acting on a tip in a money-laundering investigation. After determining that the women had no useful information, the officers released them.
But the closed investigation file had showed up in the computer when she applied for a green card, Mr. Baichu told her in December; until he obtained the file and dealt with it, her application would not be approved. If she defied him, she feared, he could summon immigration enforcement agents to take her relatives to detention.
So instead of calling the police, she turned on the video recorder in her cellphone, put the phone in her purse and walked to meet the agent. Two family members said they watched anxiously from their parked car as she disappeared behind the tinted windows of his red Lexus.
�We were worried that the guy would take off, take her away and do something to her,� the woman�s widowed sister-in-law said in Spanish.
As the recorder captured the agent�s words and a lilting Guyanese accent, he laid out his terms in an easy, almost paternal style. He would not ask too much, he said: sex �once or twice,� visits to his home in the Bronx, perhaps a link to other Colombians who needed his help with their immigration problems.
In shaky English, the woman expressed reluctance, and questioned how she could be sure he would keep his word.
�If I do it, it�s like very hard for me, because I have my husband, and I really fall in love with him,� she said.
The agent insisted that she had to trust him. �I wouldn�t ask you to do something for me if I can�t do something for you, right?� he said, and reasoned, �Nobody going to help you for nothing,� noting that she had no money.
He described himself as the single father of a 10-year-old daughter, telling her, �I need love, too,� and predicting, �You will get to like me because I�m a nice guy.�
Repeatedly, she responded �O.K.,� without conviction. At one point he thanked her for showing up, saying, �I know you feel very scared.�
Finally, she tried to leave. �Let me go because I tell my husband I come home,� she said.
His reply, the recording shows, was a blunt demand for oral sex.
�Right now? No!� she protested. �No, no, right now I can�t.�
He insisted, cajoled, even empathized. �I came from a different country, too,� he said. �I got my green card just like you.�
Then, she said, he grabbed her. During the speechless minute that follows on the recording, she said she yielded to his demand out of fear that he would use his authority against her.
How Much Corruption?
The charges against Mr. Baichu, who became a United States citizen in 1991 and earns roughly $50,000 a year, appear to be part of a larger pattern, according to government records and interviews.
Mr. Maxwell, the immigration agency�s former chief investigator, told Congress in 2006 that internal corruption was �rampant,� and that employees faced constant temptations to commit crime.
�It is only a small step from granting a discretionary waiver of an eligibility rule to asking for a favor or taking a bribe in exchange for granting that waiver,� he contended. �Once an employee learns he can get away with low-level corruption and still advance up the ranks, he or she becomes more brazen.�
�Despite our best efforts there are always people ready to use their position for personal gain or personal pleasure,� said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. �Our responsibility is to ferret them out.�
When the Queens woman came to The Times with her recording on Jan. 3, she was afraid of retaliation from the agent, and uncertain about making a criminal complaint, though she had an appointment the next day at the Queens district attorney�s office.
Mr. Baichu was arrested as he emerged from the diner and headed to his car, wearing much gold and diamond jewelry, prosecutors said. Later released on $15,000 bail, Mr. Baichu referred calls for comment to his lawyer, Sally Attia, who said he did not have authority to grant or deny green card petitions without his supervisor�s approval.
Ann Ruben
07-13 08:33 AM
Dear gc-rip,
1. As I mentioned, my AP is applied and expected to be renewed till Aug 2011. If I leave my current employer, according to the company policy the underlying I-140 will be withdrawn by the current employer. Would that invalidate my AP already approved, or would it be unaffected and I can safely travel back to USA till Aug 2011?
If I travel after a long delay of 8 months would can cause any issue on AP based entry?
Assuming your I-485 has been pending for more than 180 days and your I-140 has been approved, the employer's request to withdraw the I-140 would not invalidate your A/P. As long as you can show that full time permanent US employment in a "same or similar occupation" will be available to you once your PD is current, you are entitled to enter the US using your AP at any time prior to its expiration.
2. To renew my AP beyond Aug 2011, can I just travel for a short time to USA in April 2011, and file the renewal? And later by Aug 2011 return back to USA and collect the new renewal?
According to minutes of a 2004 USCIS liaison meeting:
USCIS: (a) If a foreign national (i) already possesses a valid, unexpired advance parole, (ii) applies for a new advance parole while he/she is present in the U.S., and (iii) then departs the U.S., the foreign national must return to the U.S. during the validity period of the current advance parole already in his or her possession. If the foreign national returns timely, abandonment of the pending advance parole application would not occur. However, the foreign national may not remain abroad after the initial advance parole expires and then seek to re-enter at a later time using the subsequent advance parole that was pending adjudication at the time the person departed the U.S.
Unfortunately, informal statements such as this are not legally binding and easily subject to change.
1. As I mentioned, my AP is applied and expected to be renewed till Aug 2011. If I leave my current employer, according to the company policy the underlying I-140 will be withdrawn by the current employer. Would that invalidate my AP already approved, or would it be unaffected and I can safely travel back to USA till Aug 2011?
If I travel after a long delay of 8 months would can cause any issue on AP based entry?
Assuming your I-485 has been pending for more than 180 days and your I-140 has been approved, the employer's request to withdraw the I-140 would not invalidate your A/P. As long as you can show that full time permanent US employment in a "same or similar occupation" will be available to you once your PD is current, you are entitled to enter the US using your AP at any time prior to its expiration.
2. To renew my AP beyond Aug 2011, can I just travel for a short time to USA in April 2011, and file the renewal? And later by Aug 2011 return back to USA and collect the new renewal?
According to minutes of a 2004 USCIS liaison meeting:
USCIS: (a) If a foreign national (i) already possesses a valid, unexpired advance parole, (ii) applies for a new advance parole while he/she is present in the U.S., and (iii) then departs the U.S., the foreign national must return to the U.S. during the validity period of the current advance parole already in his or her possession. If the foreign national returns timely, abandonment of the pending advance parole application would not occur. However, the foreign national may not remain abroad after the initial advance parole expires and then seek to re-enter at a later time using the subsequent advance parole that was pending adjudication at the time the person departed the U.S.
Unfortunately, informal statements such as this are not legally binding and easily subject to change.
AmericanInSpain
04-08 11:46 AM
I have a similar situation and I want to hear more about working remotely using a non-work resident visa...
- I am a US citizen preparing to telecommute for 18 months from Spain. I'm employed by a US company, and will continue receiving US dollars in my US bank account.
- I am moving to Spain using a Multiple-Entry Long-term Student Family Visa. My husband will attend business school there in Spain, and I will be granted the visa as his dependent. We will obtain Student Residence Permits once we arrive in Spain this August.
- My US company has no offices in Spain, nor does it pay any Spanish taxes. The work I would be doing would be for the US, on a US internet domain, and I would be paid in US dollars.
My company's legal counsel is saying I must obtain a work permit to legally work remotely from Spain. But my company has no existing entity there!
I saw "Frostrated"s thread below and was hoping someone could provide more on the topic. Thanks!
Spain has two types of resident visas. One that allows you to work, and the other that is purely for residence only. If you have a residence visa that allows you to work, you have to find employment with a Spain company within 30 days of your visa being approved or your entry into Spain, which ever is later.
About you working from Spain on a non-work resident visa, it is possible, as long as the work that you perform is for a company that is outside of Spain, has no offices in Spain and does not file business taxes in Spain. It is equal to you working for yourself without pay or benefits. Whatever you earn, you are earning in a foreign country where Spain does not have jurisdiction.
- I am a US citizen preparing to telecommute for 18 months from Spain. I'm employed by a US company, and will continue receiving US dollars in my US bank account.
- I am moving to Spain using a Multiple-Entry Long-term Student Family Visa. My husband will attend business school there in Spain, and I will be granted the visa as his dependent. We will obtain Student Residence Permits once we arrive in Spain this August.
- My US company has no offices in Spain, nor does it pay any Spanish taxes. The work I would be doing would be for the US, on a US internet domain, and I would be paid in US dollars.
My company's legal counsel is saying I must obtain a work permit to legally work remotely from Spain. But my company has no existing entity there!
I saw "Frostrated"s thread below and was hoping someone could provide more on the topic. Thanks!
Spain has two types of resident visas. One that allows you to work, and the other that is purely for residence only. If you have a residence visa that allows you to work, you have to find employment with a Spain company within 30 days of your visa being approved or your entry into Spain, which ever is later.
About you working from Spain on a non-work resident visa, it is possible, as long as the work that you perform is for a company that is outside of Spain, has no offices in Spain and does not file business taxes in Spain. It is equal to you working for yourself without pay or benefits. Whatever you earn, you are earning in a foreign country where Spain does not have jurisdiction.