As of September, a new era begins in terms of how immigration applications are processed. Whether you are applying for temporary residence, permanent residence, a visa, an extension of stay, or even U.S. citizenship, it is essential that you have professional help to navigate the process.
Up to now, when officials from (USCIS) received applications for immigration procedures and discovered that the documentation was incomplete, or that more evidence was needed, they could not directly deny the application; they had to send the immigrant a (RFE) or a (NOID), which gave the applicant the opportunity to make corrections. However, in a couple of months this will change.
Thanks to a new USCIS regulation that will go into effect on September 11, officials who process immigration applications will have total discretion to deny requests and won’t be required to notify the applicant or ask for more evidence.
La Noticia consulted various legal experts who expressed their concern because a simple error in an application may mean that the immigrant must start his or her case from scratch, or worse, end up in the deportation process.
Moreover, there is another change that has been in effect since . In the past, if a person with legal residence applied for citizenship and the application was denied, in many instances, the case simply closed, and the immigrant did not lose residence.
Now, in immigration cases that are denied or rejected, the person receives a (NTA) and must appear before an immigration judge. Legal experts fear that this change will generate more expenses for immigrants who must defend their case in court. There is also a fear that deportations will increase.
What can we do about these changes coming from a government that is constantly looking for ways to make life more difficult for immigrants? The solution is simple: if you are going to do anything related to the immigration process, you should leave absolutely nothing to chance.
Daniel P. Knutson, Community Relations Officer for the USCIS North Carolina office, told La Noticia that the most common reasons for rejected applications for immigration procedures are: the absence of the applicant’s signature on the documentation, lack of payment, and lack of essential documentation (for example, an application for citizenship in which the applicant forgot to attach a copy of the permanent residence card).
One of the article on our website with the most questions from readers is entitled: How to correct a mistake made on a form sent to Immigration.
It shows many cases of people who made mistakes when writing their name, place of origin, date of birth, etc., on immigration documents.
All the aforementioned errors can be prevented, and perhaps the best way to do this is to hire an immigration lawyer who has a good reputation. Consider the fact that although it can be expensive to hire a lawyer, in the end it is an investment because if the process is done incorrectly, it can change your life and your family’s life forever.