Can a Phoenix Citizenship Attorney Speed up the Process?
Anybody who is needing help accelerating the process in their immigration case in Arizona will want to seek the help of a Phoenix citizenship Attorney. Attorneys often have multiple ways that they can help make your case move faster.
How Attorneys Can Speed Up Your Process in Phoenix
People will see numerous immediate benefits to retaining legal counsel for their immigration cases. Some of the many different ways in which a Phoenix citizenship Attorney could prove to be beneficial in getting your case to move faster may include:
- Help You Understand Your Options — You do not have to waste any time filling out paperwork for the wrong visa and or dealing with other headaches resulting from seeking the wrong case when you have an attorney.
- Help Completing Petitions — You will be asked to fill out various kinds of government paperwork for any immigration proceeding, so you want to know you are filling out every form correctly. You may also want help dealing with the number of forms you are now facing and ensuring you are filing the right paperwork.
- Staying Updated on Processing — Several agencies can be involved in the immigration process, so paperwork can run into issues requiring immediate corrections even though the notice is not always provided. You need a Phoenix citizenship Attorney to stay abreast of everything happening with your petition so any possible delay or denial is addressed as soon as possible. There can also be cases in which new programs are introduced for which you could be a beneficiary.
- Remain Compliant — Even after you file your initial paperwork, USCIS and the federal government will place multiple restrictions on you. There will be a number of obligations for you to fulfill and you will want to have an attorney keep you updated on any renewals, paperwork, or other responsibilities relating to being a beneficiary of the American immigration system.
- Prior Experience — Most phoenix citizenship attorneys have spent several years dealing with USCIS and other federal agencies in immigration cases, so they often have good estimates on how long it will take to clear cases. Some people may have to remain more patient than others, as there can be limited options for certain cases.
- Making Requests for Premium Processing Services — USCIS offers premium processing of petitions filed for the nonimmigrant and foreign workers seeking benefits under Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. The visa category in these cases is the third preference EB-3 for skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers with a labor certification and a permanent, full-time job. It also requires individuals to file Form I-907 for premium processing as well as additional fees.
Requests to Expedite Applications or Petitions
USCIS states that people seeking immigration benefits can request that USCIS expedite the adjudication of their applications or petitions. USCIS considers every expedited request on a case-by-case basis and can also require additional documentation to support any requests.
Since granting an expedited request would mean that USCIS is adjudicating a requester’s benefit ahead of others who filed earlier, USCIS will carefully weigh the urgency and merit of every expedited request. As of June 9, 2021, USCIS can now expedite a benefit request when it falls under one or more of the following criteria or circumstances:
- Severe financial loss to a company or a person, so long as the action is not the result of a petitioner’s or applicant’s failure to timely file a benefit request or to timely respond to any requests for additional evidence;
- Emergencies and urgent humanitarian reasons;
- A nonprofit organization (as designated by the Internal Revenue Service [IRS]) whose request is in furtherance of American cultural or social interests;
- United States government interests (including cases identified as urgent by federal agencies such as the United States Department of Defense (DOD), United States Department of Labor (DOL), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the United States Department of State (DOS), DHS, or other public safety or national security interests); or
- Clear USCIS error.
Not every circumstance fitting under one of the categories or examples listed above automatically results in expedited processing. USCIS generally will not consider any expedited request for a petition or application in which Premium Processing Service is available.
A petitioner designated as a nonprofit organization by the IRS and seeking a beneficiary whose services are required in furtherance of American cultural or social interests can request that a benefit sought to be expedited without a fee, even when premium processing is available for the benefit although USCIS retains the discretion to not accommodate that request. The same petitioner can also request premium processing for a benefit like any other petitioner.
USCIS and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) coordinate expedited processing of benefit requests for noncitizens who have final orders of removal or noncitizens in removal proceedings. USCIS will not provide justification or otherwise respond regarding its decisions on expedited requests.
You begin the expedited process by confirming that you have the receipt notice of your pending application or petition. You will not be able to expedite if you do not have the receipt notice for your application or petition.
You will then call the USCIS Contact Center, and your case receipt notice will dictate which office has jurisdiction over your case. When you are on the phone, you need to make it a point to speak to a Tier 1 or Tier 2 officer.
The end goal of your phone call is to secure an Expedite Service Request Number, that will allow you to track your expedited request. You should receive an email with the details of your expedited request.
You should also be able to view updates about expedited requests on the USCIS website. When documentation is required, you should get an email seeking additional information.
Approval or denial decisions are both sent to applicants via email. You will usually see one of three statuses on the USCIS Case Status page: Expedite Request Received, Expedite Request Approved, and Expedite Request Denied.
Expedite Request Received means the expedited request has been received by USCIS and it is now proceeding with processing your application. This will be the notification you see until there is an approval or denial decision.
Expedite Request Approved means the request you submitted has been approved by USCIS. You should be emailed a notice of the action.
Expedite Request Denied means your case was not approved by USCIS. Your case failed to satisfy the expedited case criteria.
Other Possible Expedite Options in Phoenix
When people think that they have exhausted all of their potential options for a USCIS case, one possible avenue for a solution could actually be their member of Congress. This means that a person should verify who their elected representative or senator is and reach out to that congressperson.
Simply send a representative or a senator an email explaining your situation and what kind of help you are seeking with getting your case expedited. You may be surprised by how quickly some congressmen can get results.
Another option in these cases could be contacting your Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman. The LTC Ombudsman Program is authorized under the Older Americans Act and is administered at the state level, so every single state has an Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
In Arizona, there are three Ombudsman program personnel roles: Long Term Care Ombudsman Coordinator, Long Term Care Ombudsman, and Long Term Care Ombudsman Volunteer. The Long Term Care Ombudsman Coordinator is responsible for providing administrative oversight, coordination, and direct intervention of the Ombudsman program, recruiting, training, placing, and overseeing volunteer Ombudsmen and providing supervision of volunteers working in the Ombudsman program, assuring completion of monthly and ad hoc reports and proper documentation of activities, acting as the liaison to the state Ombudsman, providing supervision to Regional Ombudsman and Volunteers, assigning facilities as needed, maintaining cooperative relationships with the Department of Health Services Division of Licensing Services, staffing situations and recommending interventions and strategies that are supportive of clients’ rights, counseling families, facilities and residents in problem resolution, utilizing community resources to effective problem resolution, and visiting facilities to establish rapport, to investigate and assist in resolving complaints.
The Long Term Care Ombudsman is responsible for receiving all complaints and ensuring follow-up by coordination with long-term care facilities and/or referring complaints to the appropriate agency, providing resident advocacy for individuals living in long-term care facilities, assisting residents to maintain their dignity, autonomy, rights, and choice in everyday life and care, providing technical support for the development of resident and family councils to protect the well being and rights of residents, assisting residents and their families to understand resident rights and facility policies and applicable regulations, engaging in advocacy activities, public information and referrals to licensing and other enforcement agencies, maintaining records and reports on complaints and follow up actions, providing reports and other statistical data on Ombudsman program activities, ensuring the confidentiality of resident issues, and following proper disclosure of information on all complaints. The Volunteer Ombudsman is responsible for visiting their assigned facilities on a regular basis, serving as a liaison between residents, their families, and facility personnel, investigating and resolving complaints within the assigned facility, reporting complaints to their coordinator, and referring unresolved complaints to the local Ombudsman coordinator.
Call Us Today to Speak with a Phoenix Asylum Attorney
If you need help seeking asylum status in the Phoenix area, you are going to need to make sure that you are working with a Phoenix citizenship Attorney that will have your best interests in mind and know how to prove you qualify. Diamondback Legal understands all of the challenges involved in an asylum claim, and we also know how to help people get the asylum status they crave so they need not fear returning to their home country.
Our firm makes it a point to answer phone calls at all hours of the day, so you will never have to worry about getting somebody on the phone to talk to you about your case. Call (602) 584-8938 or contact us online today to receive a free consultation with our Phoenix citizenship Attorney.
Related Post: 9 Ways to Speed Up Your Immigration Case in Arizona