Q: Russian IVs processed in Warsaw, but due to travel restrictions most Russians can't get there. Will DoS designate alternative posts?
A: "We have a beef with the Russian government, not the Russian people" but moving people around is a resource issue for third countries. A ctd: IR-5s (parent of US citizens) from NVC should be going to Tashkent or Almaty - but if already 221(g) in Warsaw will stay there. There are 40-50 cases/month being transferred from Warsaw to Tashkent or Almaty

THREAD: Department of State open forum at the #AILAAC2023 @AILANational conference. Present for DoS:
Matthew McNeil, Attorney Advisor, Office of the Legal Advisor, Visa Advisory Opinions
Brian McInermey, Director for Global Visa Field Services

THREAD: I'll be live-tweeting the government open forums at this year's #AILAAC2023 @AILANational convention. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) open forum starts in a few minutes. Department of State is at 10 Eastern. USCIS and USCIS ombudsman are tomorrow. @AILANational Here are the CBP open forum participants. Let's go!

One of my favorite types of letters to write: "Dear employer, my client is authorized to work. Please re-read the I-9 instructions. I'm also attaching helpful info from DHS and EEOC about unlawful nationality discrimination. You should probably go ahead and re-hire my client." For those following along at home: an employer can't make up their own rules about what documents are sufficient to show that you're authorized to work. eeoc.gov/national-origi…

Please share: More @ICEgov shenanigans in Memphis. ICE has three US citizen kids in custody along with their mom, who has lived in the US for 20 years and is in the process of applying for a green card. She'll soon be eligible to reopen her deportation order. /1 @ICEgov Like the St Jude family I tweeted about last week, this family should NOT be a "priority" for removal. Mom has been reporting to ICE diligently while pursuing her green card. /2

Please share: @ICEgov detained a @StJude child cancer patient & his mom in Memphis today. They are in the process of applying for green cards through US citizen dad, which they are eligible to do despite having an old deportation order. They have reported to ICE regularly.1/ I'm awaiting a call back from ICE higher ups about what on earth is going on here. They were ordered deported years ago only because they had insufficient evidence to prove a (very serious) asylum claim, and should NOT be an "enforcement priority" by any means./2

1/? Next up, I'll be live tweeting the USCIS open forum at the @AILANational #AILAAC22 .Michael Valverde (field operations), Carrie Selby (external ops), Dan Renaud (associate director of DHS), Tracy Renaud (service center ops), Ashley Tabbador (USCIS Chief Counsel), Doug Rand. 2/ First up Michael Valverde of field ops: we're examining our processing to make sure we are moving cases forward efficiently, we can always do better. Eg reducing the N400 (naturalization) backlog.

1/? I'm live tweeting the EOIR open forum here at @aila #AILAAC22 with David Neal, EOIR director; Mary Cheng, EOIR deputy director; Charles Adkins-Blanch, Deputy Chief Appellate Immigration Judge; Sanjay Gupta; Chief Information Officer; Khalilah Taylor, ACIJ Falls Church 2/ Q: Can you confirm there are NO standing orders in effect?
A: NO standing orders currently in effect.
Q: Anticipated date for standing orders?
A: At this time, no.
Q: how much notice will we get if that changes?
A: As much as possible but not under consideration now.

1/? In a few minutes I'll be live tweeting the Department of State's open forum at the #AILA Annual Conference. 2/ Our IMMpact team is all here, not sure who else is going to live tweet. @gsiskind @immlawACHall @ckuck @jeffjoseph @jwhollis @blesjm1

1/? I’m at the @AILANational conference where @USCIS director Ur Jaddou is speaking. She says the agency has almost 20% staff vacancy due to hiring freeze and they are aggressively hiring with the goal of 5% by the end of the calendar year. 2/ Unsurprisingly she says to be ready for a “fee restructure” that they are “carefully reviewing” now. Hope to issue new proposed rule structure for an “equitable” structure “in the coming months.” (Courts nixed Trump admin’s last attempt to raise fees)

1/ Not sure if this analogy is going to make it into a brief I'll be filing tomorrow, but this is what Indian employment-based green card applicants are experiencing due to USCIS mismanagement:

Imagine a nightmare trip to the DMV to apply for a driver’s license... 2/You arrive first thing in the morning & take a number from a ticket dispenser. “Congratulations,” the agent at the window says, “you’re #70. We’ll serve the first 100 people in line today. Pay the application fee & fill out this form. We’ll process your application shortly.”

THREAD: In a few min (2 pm Eastern) I'll live tweet our status conference in #Chakrabarti, our lawsuit challenging USCIS' waste of employment-based visa numbers and failure to timely adjudicate green card applications #EBAOS. There is no public dial-in for this one. 2/What's this call about? We requested a preliminary injunction: immediate order for USCIS to decide cases and/or reserve visas. USCIS opposes, wants the case split up & sent to dozens of states. We don't know what the judge will focus on but @jeffjoseph is ready for anything!

THREAD: I'll be live-tweeting Judge Messitte's hearing in the Federal District Court of MD, for our #Chakrabarti case challenging delays on EB AOS / visa number wastage, along with others suing USCIS. Starts at 11 eastern. Dial-in info below.

https://twitter.com/LilySAxelrod/status/1432724937224118289

2/ What is this hearing about? USCIS HQ is in Maryland, and federal judges there noticed a bunch of individual suits against USCIS for processing delays, in addition to our large #Chakrabarti suit challenging delays in EB AOS & wasting visa number.