Summary of November 13, 2003 Service Center Operations Teleconference

1. H-1B Cap. With the reduced availability of H-1B numbers this year, do you plan to suspend premium processing of cap-sensitive H-1B cases? If your answer is other than no, may we assume you will exempt non-subject H-1B cases from any premium processing suspension?
   
   We have not yet made decisions about suspending premium processing.
    
2. Approvals, Denials, RFEs and NOIDs Not Received. With the advent of the NCSC as the only first-stage avenue of access to the Service Centers, customers who have not received Approval Notices, Denial Notices, Requests for Evidence, or Notices of Intention to Deny are not able to obtain replacement/duplicate copies in a timely manner. Is there a process for the NCSC to immediately send these requests to the Service Center for resolution? Are these kinds of NCSC referrals flagged for prompt Service Center action?
   
   CSRs [Customer Service Representatives] at the 1-800# can take referrals for customers who have not received a denial notice, an RFE, or a NOID per established protocols. These working protocols have been in place since the beginning of the referral program. Despite the large volume, Service Centers have been promptly responding to all referrals. Current protocols require that customers who did not receive an approval notice to request a duplicate by filing form I-824; however, that protocol is currently under review and is likely to be changed to permit more expeditious handling through the referral process. The revised protocols will enable these customers to obtain a duplicate approval notice, without the need to file an I-824. CIS hopes to implement this change shortly.
    
3. Post-Dated C/S from F-1. We understand that in a change of status approval from F-1 to, for example, H-1B, the Service Center updates the F-1’s SEVIS record. Where the change of status approval occurs in advance of the “effective date” (meaning the “valid from” date on the approved petition), the Service Center’s updating of SEVIS has resulted in a school’s reporting the student as out of status even though the student may remain fully compliant with the terms of F-1 status to the date of the approved c/s. Is there a way to enter a future change in SEVIS that doesn't impact the student's current status until the change of status is truly effective?
   
   The Service Centers do not update SEVIS. An electronic interface between CIS’ electronic system and SEVIS is responsible for information about a change of status being communicated to SEVIS. CIS does not manage the SEVIS program, ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] does, so AILA may wish to take up this topic with ICE.
    

Submitted by Greg Adams, Chair, AILA Service Center Operations Liaison
Approved by Steve Bucher for Service Center Operations