CSC Stakeholders News Letter

3RD QUARTER 2014

C A L I F O R N I A S E RV I C E C E N T E R

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Quarterly Stakeholders Newsletter

Message from CSC Director Kathy Baran Welcome to the inaugural issue of CSC Stakeholder’s Newsletter! I feel honored and privileged to serve as CSC Director. Our mission is a very personal one for me. My grandparents immigrated to this country with little more than a few personal possessions, but most importantly, with a deep and abiding sense of pride and gratitude for the opportunity of becoming American citizens.

Serving first as an officer in the United States Navy and now as Director of CSC, I am proud to continue their legacy. Here at CSC, I have the pleasure of leading a wonderful and diverse team of men and women who care deeply about our mission and our nation. Side by side, we strive every day to provide the best service to our customers, taking pride in the vital role we play in securing the promise of opportunity for the many people who seek to join us in citizenship and partnership across the globe. Importantly, we also recognize that there are continuous opportunities for us to grow and learn as an organization. Our communication with you is an important part of that growth.

We’re very excited to launch this latest effort to reach out to Stakeholders with information and recommendations that we hope will improve our communication and facilitate our shared objectives. As you may know, I am approaching my 10th month here at CSC, and in that time have come to see that both our stakeholders and adjudication officers can positively benefit from a forum for sharing filing tips and best practices. This great initiative is being driven by CSC’s new Community Relations Officer, Ms. Lila Bohorquez. Lila comes to us from USCIS Headquarters in Washington, DC and brings a wealth of experience, high motivation and positive energy to our outreach and engagement office. Please feel free to reach out to her to share your thoughts and ideas for inclusion in our Newsletter.

I look forward to meeting you at future CSC events.

Kathy A Baran Director California Service Center H-2A and H-2B Best Practices One of the primary reasons H-2A and H-2B petitions with multiple named beneficiaries require a Request for Evidence (RFE) is because page 33 (Attachment 1 of Form I-129) is not submitted for each individual beneficiary. Page 33 is important because it allows the adjudications officer to find the necessary information quickly and to complete the adjudication of the petition in an expeditious manner.

Other common reasons for a request (RFE) may include missing original signatures of the petitioner and a preparer, if any, on the Form I-129 and the temporary labor certification application (ETA Form 9142A or 9142B) approved by U.S. Department of Labor. Also, failure to provide the receipt number of the previous H2A and H2B petition when an extension or change of employer is requested can cause a delay in the adjudication of the petition.

Greetings! My name is Lila Bohorquez, the new Community Relations Officer at CSC. CSC is committed to building strong customer relations. Since regular communication is very important, we have created the CSC Stakeholder Newsletter (published quarterly), a virtual way to connect with our stakeholders. Each issue will have a Leadership Spotlight (where we introduce a member of our Senior Executive Team), announcements, best practices and filing tips.

Please email me your suggestions for areas of best practices and tips for our future Newsletters at CSC-CEO@uscis.dhs.gov.

CSC Stakeholder Newsletter: Page 2 (2nd Quarter 2014)

Announcements I-130 Filing Tips

Best Practices for I-130 Petitions

Ensure Form I-130 is completely filled out.

When an item is non-applicable, indicate “N/A� versus leaving it blank.

Translations: Ensure that all foreign language documents are accompanied by certified English translations. Also, ensure that all English translations are accompanied by the foreign language document.

For spousal petitions, be sure to include Form G-325A for both the petitioner and the beneficiary.

Responding to RFEs Review and submit all requested evidence in one response by the due date.

Requesting Priority Date Retention / Humanitarian Reinstatements / 204(l) Clearly indicate any request for priority date retention, humanitarian reinstatement, or 204(l).

Provide a copy of the previously approved petition that the priority date retention, humanitarian reinstatement, or 204(l) request is based on.

I-751 Filing Fee Base Petition Fee: $505 Biometric Fee: $85 Total: $590 Please include the base petition fee plus $85 biometric services fee for all conditional resident applicants. Each conditional resident child listed under Part 5 of this form who is a dependent seeking to remove their conditional status, is required to submit an additional biometric services fee of $85, regardless of age.

CSC Open House June 11, 2014 We will email an invitation with an agenda. In the meantime, please email topic questions to CSC-CEO@uscis.dhs.gov

CSC Director Kathy Baran On June 16, 2013, Kathy A. Baran was appointed Director of the California Service Center to oversee and manage approximately 1400 government employees and contractors adjudicating and processing more than 1 million petitions and applications for immigration benefits yearly.

Ms. Baran joins USCIS from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet Headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where she served in the Senior Executive Service as Deputy Chief of Staff and Director for Total Fleet Manpower and Personnel. As the Director, she oversaw all matters regarding the Navy's 140,000-member Pacific Fleet workforce, which includes active-duty and reserve military forces as well as civilian employees and contractors. She managed military-personnel readiness, strategic workforce planning, policy development, human-resources operations, and staff program effectiveness.

Ms. Baran served as a Navy Officer from 1982 to 2011 and retired at the grade of Captain.

While on active duty, she held many leadership positions-including Commander of Navy Recruiting Region West; Director for Total Force Management for Commander, Navy Region Southwest; and Assistant Chief of Staff for Naval Air Forces Pacific/Atlantic Fleet. She also led manpower, recruiting and human-resources efforts at various commands and served in a variety of assignments in Washington, D.C., including duties on the Secretary of the Navy's Standing Committee on Women and the Department of Defense's Task Force on Equal Opportunity.