USIS, USCIS, INS, Immigration and Naturalization Office

The USIS is the acronym for the United States Information Service. It is the overseas name for the no longer existing United States Information Agency. The USIS is a name that was sometimes used in the past, both officially and non-officially, to refer to at the very least one of the many United States federal agencies of the executive branch which has implemented United States Immigration Law. Today the main office is the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The USIS is confused today with many immigration services. They still refer to the USIS as the United States Information Service. There are many USIS state parks that you can visit and tour but the division of the USIS in immigration exists no more.
The USCIS is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is often confused with the USIS. Remember the USIS is the overseas term for the United States Information Service.
The INS refers to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This is not the current agency for immigration although many people still use the name. The INS is no longer in existence. The USCIS, or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, not the USIS, is the current and correct name of the administration and agency that administers immigration and naturalization services in the United States.
In March of 2003 after the Homeland Security Act of 2002 came into effect the former functions of INS were placed under three bureaus all within the scope of the Department of Homeland Security. Remember the USIS no longer was a part of this. The three bureaus are the USCIS, not the USIS, the ICE, which is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the CBP, which is the Customs and Border Patrol.
Since the first immigration office was created over a century ago with the USIS being one of those along the way, the services have evolved. This evolvement started in 1891 and the one we are currently under in the United States has been enacted since 2003.
In 1906, the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization came into being. That bureau stayed in effect until 1913 when the bureau divided into two separate agencies; the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization. Both of these bureaus were placed under the name of the new Department of Labor.
Therefore currently the Department of Homeland Security is the head agency with the three agencies underneath it. These agencies do not include the USIS. They all do, however, have their own unique services they offer to foreign individuals looking to come to the United States.

H-2B Visa Application Process

The process for an H-2B visa begins with the U.S. employer filing ETA Form 9141, Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, with the Chicago National Processing Center (CNPC). Next, the U.S. employer should submit a job order with the State Workforce Agency (SWA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) serving the area where the employment is intended. After receiving the application, the SWA will check the job order request for errors or omissions, prepare a job order, and keep it in the Employment Service System for 10 days (but not more than 120 days) before the workers are actually needed.
After filing the application with the SWA, the U.S. employer has to show that it has made all efforts to recruit U.S. workers for a specific job before beginning to recruit foreign nationals to fill that particular position under an H-2B visa. This process begins by contacting local unions. The employer should maintain copies of any correspondence with the unions contacted as well as a record of the outcome and any qualified referrals received from the union. The U.S. employer should also post two printed advertisements for three consecutive days in a general circulation newspaper, including one Sunday newspaper, in the area of the intended employment. Alternatively, the employer can post its advertisement in a professional, trade, or ethnic publication, depending on which course of action is most appropriate for the occupation and most likely to bring responses from U.S. workers. These advertisements must be published at the same time that the SWA job order is posted.
After the U.S. employer has completed its recruitment process, the employer continue the H-2B visa application process by submitting an ETA form 9142, Application for Temporary Employment Certification, along with Appendix B.1 and a Recruitment Report to the CNPC. This application can be filed up to 120 days before the workers are needed. A certifying officer at the CNPC will review the applications to confirm that they are compliant. Next, the U.S. employer must file a visa petition, Form I-129, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). On approval of the visa petition, the employee abroad will submit his or her own application for an H-2B visa to a U.S. consulate. The employee can use their visa to enter the U.S. and claim their H-2B visa status.
After mailing in the petition, the employer should receive a Form I-797, Notice of Action, within a few weeks, which is confirmation that the H-2B visa papers are being processed and also acts as a receipt for the fee submitted. If USCIS wants further information before deciding whether to issue an H-2B visa for the foreign worker, it will issue a Request for Evidence. The employer should provide the extra data requested and mail it to the USCIS service center. Instructions on where to send the additional evidence as well as a deadline for submission will be detailed on the Request for Evidence.

USIS, USCIS, INS, Immigration and Naturalization Office

The USIS is the acronym for the United States Information Service. It is the overseas name for the no longer existing United States Information Agency. The USIS is a name that was sometimes used in the past, both officially and non-officially, to refer to at the very least one of the many United States federal agencies of the executive branch which has implemented United States Immigration Law. Today the main office is the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The USIS is confused today with many immigration services. They still refer to the USIS as the United States Information Service. There are many USIS state parks that you can visit and tour but the division of the USIS in immigration exists no more.
The USCIS is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is often confused with the USIS. Remember the USIS is the overseas term for the United States Information Service.
The INS refers to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This is not the current agency for immigration although many people still use the name. The INS is no longer in existence. The USCIS, or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, not the USIS, is the current and correct name of the administration and agency that administers immigration and naturalization services in the United States.
In March of 2003 after the Homeland Security Act of 2002 came into effect the former functions of INS were placed under three bureaus all within the scope of the Department of Homeland Security. Remember the USIS no longer was a part of this. The three bureaus are the USCIS, not the USIS, the ICE, which is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the CBP, which is the Customs and Border Patrol.
Since the first immigration office was created over a century ago with the USIS being one of those along the way, the services have evolved. This evolvement started in 1891 and the one we are currently under in the United States has been enacted since 2003.
In 1906, the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization came into being. That bureau stayed in effect until 1913 when the bureau divided into two separate agencies; the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization. Both of these bureaus were placed under the name of the new Department of Labor.
Therefore currently the Department of Homeland Security is the head agency with the three agencies underneath it. These agencies do not include the USIS. They all do, however, have their own unique services they offer to foreign individuals looking to come to the United States.

How To Apply for a Fiance(e) Visa

On 10.29.09, In , By Immigration Direct

How do I apply for a fiance(e) visa?

If you are a US citizen, you can bring your foreign national fiance(e) to the US in order to get married. Your fiance(e) will need a K-1 visa, or fiancee visa. Your marriage must occur within ninety (90) days of your fiance(e)’s entry into the US. Your fiance(e)’s children can also enter the US if they are unmarried and under age twenty-one (21).

The first step in the K-1 fiance(e) visa application process is completed in the US by you. You must be a US citizen in order to be eligible to receive a K-1 visa for your fiance(e). You will need to complete Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiance(e), and file it with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This form is three (3) pages long and asks for information about you and your fiance(e). Additionally, you and your fiance(e) both need to complete Form G-325A, Biographic Information, to send with the fiancee visa application. Form I-129F and Form G-325A are the two (2) fiance(e) visa forms that need to be filed with the USCIS.

Next, you should gather all of the supporting documents required for the fiance(e) visa application. These documents will be filed along with the fiance(e) visa forms mentioned above. You will have to submit proof that you are a US citizen. You can submit a full copy of all pages of your US passport to prove your citizenship. If you do not have a passport, you can prove your citizenship with other documents as well, such as a copy of a birth certificate, certificate of naturalization, certificate of citizenship or Form FS-240, Report of Birth Abroad of a US Citizen.

You must prove that both you and your fiance(e) can legally marry each other. If you or your fiance(e) have previously been married, you must submit proof that those marriages have been legally terminated. You must also show the USCIS that you have met your fiance(e) in person within the last two (2) years. You could prove this with travel itineraries, pictures of you and your fiance(e) together, and notarized affidavits given by you and your fiance(e), for example. There are limited exceptions to the requirement to meet in person. If you have never met your fiance(e) in person, you will have to prove that you have not met due to extreme hardship or that you have not met because it is against your custom, culture, or social practice.

In the fiance(e) visa application, you must prove that you truly intend to marry your fiance(e) within ninety (90) days after he or she enters the US. You should submit statements from both you and your fiance(e) declaring your intentions to marry. You may also submit any additional proof of this intent, such as wedding plans or invitations. You should file the fiance(e) visa application with a passport-style color photograph of yourself and a passport-style color photograph of your fiance(e). These photographs must be taken within thirty (30) days of the filing of the fiance(e) visa application.

If you’ve ever been convicted of certain violent crimes or certain crimes involving controlled substances, you need to submit a certified copy of all of your criminal records and police records with the fiance(e) visa forms. Please consult the list on page 3 of the instructions to Form I-129F if you are unsure whether you need to send your criminal record to USCIS. If your fiance(e) visa application is approved, a copy of your court and police records will be given to your fiance(e) at his or her visa interview.

If the USCIS approves your fiance(e) visa application, it will forward the approval to the National Visa Center for processing. Then the petition will be sent to the U.S. consulate located in your fiance(e)’s home country. Your fiance(e) must then complete the second stage of the fiance(e) visa application and appear at the consulate for an interview.

Before the visa interview, your fiance(e) will need to complete the required medical examination. Your fiance(e)e should contact the consulate in his or her home country to obtain a list of doctors that are qualified to provide the examination. Your fiance(e) will also need to obtain two (2) passport-style photographs to bring to the visa interview.

Your fiance(e) must complete two fiance(e) visa forms: Form DS-156, Nonimmigrant Visa Application and Form DS-156K, Nonimmigrant Fiance(e) Visa Application. Your fiance(e) may also be required to provide Form I-134, Affidavit of Support. This form needs to completed by you and shows that you have enough financial resources to support your fiance(e) if you should need to do so. Your fiance(e) should come to the interview with a valid passport, birth certificate, and evidence of his or her relationship with you and intention to marry you within ninety (90) days of arriving in the US. This evidence can be similar to the evidence you provided to USCIS in the first stage of the fiance(e) visa application. Results of the required medical exam must be submitted at the time of the visa interview. Your fiance(e) will also need to pay various fees associated with issuing the visa. Check with the consulate before your fiance(e)’s interview because procedures vary slightly from consulate to consulate.

At the K-1 visa interview, a consular officer will determine if your fiance(e) is eligible for the K-1 visa. The officer will probably ask questions about how your fiance(e) met you and how you became engaged. If everything is in order, the consular officer will grant your fiance(e) a K-1 visa. If your fiance(e) has unmarried children under age twenty-one (21), these children may enter the U.S. with your fiance(e). These children must appear at the interview to obtain visa stamps in their passports.

You and your fiance(e) must marry within ninety (90) days of your fiance(e)’s entry into the United States. If for any reason you do not marry, your fiance(e) must leave the US before the ninety (90) days have passed. After the marriage, you may file with the USCIS to get permanent resident status for your new spouse.

Click here to prepare your K-1 fiance(e) visa at ImmigrationDirect.com.

Click here to prepare an application for permanent residency for your foreign spouse at ImmigrationDirect.com.

Signing, Expediting and E-filing the USCIS Application

Signature Requirements for USCIS Forms

Applicants and petitioners have to sign their respective USCIS applications and petitions. The signature must be original. Parents and legal guardians can sign on behalf of their children under age 14. Legal guardians can sign for applicants who are incompetent to sign. Under such circumstances, the USCIS application package should include evidence of parentage or legal guardianship if not otherwise required for the immigration benefit that is sought for. There are electronic signature rules that apply to forms that are filed electronically in accordance with the instructions on the form.

Attorneys and accredited representatives filing any petition or application on behalf of petitioners and applicants have to signForm G-28, Notice of Appearance, and include the original along with the application package. The petitioner or applicant or his/her legal guardian for children under age 14 has to sign the Form G-28 in the original. USCIS accepts original Form G-28 that has the facsimile signature of the attorney or accredited representative, such as a stamped signature as allowed under the regulations governing the filing of applications and petitions and longstanding operational guidance.

Expedite Criteria

The USCIS reviews all expedite requests on a case-by-case basis, and are granted at the sole discretion of the Director. The applicant or petitioner has to demonstrate that one or more of the expedite criteria have been met. The criteria are as follows:

• Severe financial loss to company or individual
• Extreme emergent situation
• Humanitarian situation
• Nonprofit status of requesting organization in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the US.
• Department of Defense or National Interest Situation (Note: Request must come from official United States government entity and state that delay will be detrimental to our government)
• USCIS error
• Compelling interest of USCIS

If you have already filed your USCIS application or petition, you can make an expedite request by contacting the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at the toll-free telephone number 1-800-375-5283. The NCSC will take a “service request” and forward your expedite request to the office with jurisdiction over the application or petition. You also can either visit your local office by scheduling an Info Pass appointment or write a letter to the local office or service center.

E-Filing the USCIS Application

If you have decided to e-file your USCIS application, check the eligibility information to see if e-filing is the right filing option for you. You should have a recent version (8 or higher) installed on your computer and also have Netscape (version 4.7 or higher) or Internet Explorer (version 5.0 or higher) installed on your computer.

Benefits of Filing Online

• You can file your application from anyplace that has a computer with an Internet connection.
• You can pay the fees with a credit card or directly through your checking or savings account
• You can receive immediate confirmation that your application has been received by USCIS

Note that you will not be able to e-file if you are applying for a waiver of the filing fee or requesting that your case be expedited.

There may be some circumstances in which e-filing may not be the suitable option. Ensure that you review the form instructions prior to e-filing. If e-filing is not the best option for you, you can check the instructions for the paper version of the form.

H-2B Visa Application Process

The process for an H-2B visa begins with the U.S. employer filing ETA Form 9141, Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, with the Chicago National Processing Center (CNPC). Next, the U.S. employer should submit a job order with the State Workforce Agency (SWA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) serving the area where the employment is intended. After receiving the application, the SWA will check the job order request for errors or omissions, prepare a job order, and keep it in the Employment Service System for 10 days (but not more than 120 days) before the workers are actually needed.

After filing the application with the SWA, the U.S. employer has to show that it has made all efforts to recruit U.S. workers for a specific job before beginning to recruit foreign nationals to fill that particular position under an H-2B visa. This process begins by contacting local unions. The employer should maintain copies of any correspondence with the unions contacted as well as a record of the outcome and any qualified referrals received from the union. The U.S. employer should also post two printed advertisements for three consecutive days in a general circulation newspaper, including one Sunday newspaper, in the area of the intended employment. Alternatively, the employer can post its advertisement in a professional, trade, or ethnic publication, depending on which course of action is most appropriate for the occupation and most likely to bring responses from U.S. workers. These advertisements must be published at the same time that the SWA job order is posted.

After the U.S. employer has completed its recruitment process, the employer continue the H-2B visa application process by submitting an ETA form 9142, Application for Temporary Employment Certification, along with Appendix B.1 and a Recruitment Report to the CNPC. This application can be filed up to 120 days before the workers are needed. A certifying officer at the CNPC will review the applications to confirm that they are compliant. Next, the U.S. employer must file a visa petition, Form I-129, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). On approval of the visa petition, the employee abroad will submit his or her own application for an H-2B visa to a U.S. consulate. The employee can use their visa to enter the U.S. and claim their H-2B visa status.

After mailing in the petition, the employer should receive a Form I-797, Notice of Action, within a few weeks, which is confirmation that the H-2B visa papers are being processed and also acts as a receipt for the fee submitted. If USCIS wants further information before deciding whether to issue an H-2B visa for the foreign worker, it will issue a Request for Evidence. The employer should provide the extra data requested and mail it to the USCIS service center. Instructions on where to send the additional evidence as well as a deadline for submission will be detailed on the Request for Evidence.

What is the Government INS?

Anyone visiting United States for the first time generally has some plans in mind to gain permanent residence or citizenship in USA. There are several requirements, which should be fulfilled in order to become a permanent resident or citizen of USA.

To provide services to the immigrants, the government of United States had established a separate department, United States Immigration and Naturalization Services – the government INS. The task of this department was to facilitate and provide information and services relating to Immigration and Naturalization and enumerate all the legal processes involved.

Understanding INS

The department of government INS was established in 1933. It was formed by the amalgamation of two departments that were earlier involved in the same tasks on individual capacities. After 2003, this department came under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security. The government INS was divided into US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). USCIS is in charge of immigration service functions.

The process of immigration and naturalization is carried out under USCIS. The main purpose of this department is to verify the eligibility and grant legal status under various categories for the immigrants, either as nonimmigrants, permanent residents or citizens of United States.

To avail the government INS services, immigrants have to comply with the eligibility requirements, details of which can be found on the official website of the USCIS. The requirements differ for each visa category and also for citizenship.

Responsibilities of the INS

Though the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization were consolidated to form the INS, there was a significant reduction in the INS’s work force. Immigration numbers dropped in the 1930s and the agency had more work with the deportation of illegal aliens, and a lot of repatriation in the later years.

Immigration began to be looked at as a security issue rather than an economic issue and therefore was moved to the Department of Justice from the Department of Labor. The government INS witnessed rapid growth during World War II as its responsibilities in relation to the security of the nation increased. INS had to keep track of all aliens legally within the country as well as the enemy aliens. They also had to handle clearance for persons leaving on defense duty and arriving for agricultural work, which was needed because the Americans were leaving to take part in the war. INS installed a new system for record keeping, increased its work force and brought about the implementation of the Nationality Act of 1940.

The government INS also instituted various immigration Acts to help address the post-war situations. It focused on the increasing number of illegal aliens living and working in the country and on deportation of persons involved in organized crime, illegal activities and communism. The government INS put into place the preference system to help family members of immigrants reunite. It was also looking at attracting a qualified work force to the nation. One of its other responsibilities was to bring in a policy regarding the admittance of refugees. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 gave the INS the additional responsibility of tracking and handling people working without documents and employers who employed these undocumented persons. INS was also expected to administer the process under the same act which allowed certain illegal aliens to legalize their status.

The government INS was involved in providing temporary and permanent immigration benefits to persons entering the US. INS was responsible in the immigration checks at ports of entry and admittance of eligible immigrants. It also administered other benefits like green card status and naturalization for those who were interested and qualified for the same. INS was also more involved in tracking and removing undocumented persons entering the US and also removing those who overstayed or violated conditions of their stay.