Trump administration introduces new barriers to green card and citizenship

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The Trump administration is preparing to introduce a new hurdle for immigrants who apply for a green card, reducing the opportunity for members of Congress to help people trying to get permanent legal status. He writes about it The Daily Beastreferring to the e-mail uscis.

A letter sent to 18 in December by a senior official in the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the agency would set new limits on how members of Congress can help immigrants who want to get green cards or citizenship. The agency will soon require additional forms in most cases, as well as a certified translation and notarized signatures.

USCIS insists that all of this protects immigrants' privacy and that any claims of intentional obstruction are "unfounded." Advocates say it's further evidence that the Trump administration is finding "creative ways" to tighten immigration controls.

Immigrants who want to get green cards or citizenship often seek the help of members of Congress when the USCIS agency responsible for helping people does not respond.

Team members often have to help dozens of immigrants every week.

When asking for help from Congress, immigrants sign a disclaimer of confidentiality, allowing their congress office to contact USCIS on their behalf and report to them. These denials also allow Congress staff to share what they learn with immigrant families and lawyers. In many cases, especially in the presence of a language barrier, congress personnel work exclusively with the family or immigrant lawyer.

The changes that USCIS seems willing to make will make it harder for members of Congress to add a dramatic increase in documents and red tape.

In his letter, Ronald Atkinson, Acting Head of Legislative Affairs, USCIS, wrote that the changes were designed to “help both USCIS and Congress to process requests more efficiently, as well as to protect confidential information.”

In the letter, Atkinson sets out four new or increased requirements for USCIS to agree to a confidentiality waiver:

• it must be signed manually by a person intending to immigrate and notarized. Digital signatures will not be accepted.
• he should call the employee in the congress office the only authorized recipient;
• it must include a full translation of any text other than English, as well as certify the competence of the translator for translation.
• Each subsequent request sent more than 30 days after receiving a “meaningful and accurate” response from USCIS must include a new privacy denial.

The last item is the most burdensome. Each case can take several months, and congress bureaus often turn to USCIS several times. The requirement of a complete refusal of confidentiality with each appeal will dramatically increase the number of documents.

In a statement submitted The Daily Beast, Jonathan Stington, a spokesman for USCIS, said the agency does not intend and does not believe that the new requirements will be a burden for immigrants.

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