Category: News

As published in the World Journal Daily on December 3, 2025

 

(New York) — Well-respected in New York’s immigration law field, Attorneys Alan Lee and Arthur Lee have both received major professional distinctions for 2025, marking a new milestone in legal services for the Chinese community. Veteran attorney Alan Lee, who has served the Chinese community for over 40 years, has been named a New York “Super Lawyer” for the 14th time for his exceptional expertise and extensive experience. His partner, Attorney Arthur Lee, has also been selected—based on his outstanding performance—for the “Super Lawyers Rising Star” honor for the first time, forming a perfect partnership of seasoned mastery and emerging talent.

Brilliant Achievements: A Mark of Quality in the Legal Field

The release of the 2025 list of top attorneys in the New York metropolitan area once again highlights the remarkable accomplishment of Attorney Alan Lee, who has been named a “Super Lawyer” for the 14th time. His recognitions include an initial selection in 2011 and consecutive selections from 2013 through 2024, setting a distinguished record for Chinese attorneys in the field of immigration law.

Also noteworthy, Attorney Alan Lee was selected for the second time this August for The Best Lawyers in America™ 2025, a publication known for its rigorous evaluation standards. Only about 6% of practicing attorneys earn this prestigious designation each year. At the same time, Attorney Arthur Lee was recognized for his excellence in immigration law as one of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, showcasing the professional strength of a new generation of Chinese attorneys.

A Professional Team Providing Comprehensive Immigration Legal Services

Alan Lee and Arthur Lee, Attorneys at Law, is located in a prime area next to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, offering convenient access. The firm has a complete professional legal team providing comprehensive immigration services, including all types of employment -related nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, family-based immigration, and immigration waivers. Alan Lee not altogether kiddingly refers to the staff as the “A” Team.

Challenges of the Times: Professional Protection in a New Immigration Environment

As U.S. immigration policy enters a period of change, both attorneys urge community members to remain vigilant, carefully assess risks in traveling before taking a trip, and be careful in their choice of legal representation.

Serving the Chinese Community: Four Decades of Unwavering Commitment

Since the 1980s, Attorney Alan Lee has dedicated himself to providing high-quality legal services to the Chinese community in New York, witnessing numerous changes in U.S. immigration laws and policy. With the addition of Attorney Arthur Lee, the firm now combines extensive experience with innovative thinking, allowing it to deliver more comprehensive legal services.

The firm has fluency in Mandarin and Cantonese, ensuring smooth communication with clients.

【Contact Information】

Address: 408 8th Ave., Suite 5A, New York, NY 10001
(Located next to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan; very convenient transportation)
Phone: (212) 564-9496
Website: www.AlanLeeLaw.com
Email: immigration@alanleelaw.com
Hours: Monday–Friday 9:00–5:00

The 2025 annual list for the top attorneys in the New York Metro area is out and Alan Lee, Esq., was again selected as a Super Lawyer and his partner, Arthur Lee, Esq, selected as a Super Lawyer Rising Star. 

This is the 14th time that Alan Lee has been selected, having previously been honored in 2011, 2013-2024, and the first selection for Arthur Lee.

Alan Lee was earlier selected in August for the second time for the 2025 Best Lawyers in America™, which honors the top 6% of practicing attorneys in the country and Arthur Lee was selected at the same time as a Best Lawyers, Ones to Watch.

Both practice U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law in their law firm, Alan Lee and Arthur Lee, Attorneys at Law, near Penn Station in Midtown, Manhattan.

The 2024 annual list for the top attorneys in the New York Metro area is out and Alan Lee, Esq., was again selected as a Super Lawyer for New York City.  He is one of only 4 lawyers of Chinese descent in the 81 attorneys chosen in the area of immigration law.

This is the 13^th time that Alan Lee has been selected, having previously been honored in 2011, 2013-2023.

Alan Lee was earlier selected in August for the first time for the 2024 Best Lawyers in America™, which honors the top 6% of practicing attorneys in the country.  He was only one of two lawyers of Chinese descent among the 82 selectees from New York City in the field of immigration.

He exclusively practices U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law with his son and partner, Arthur Lee, Esq., in the law firm, Alan Lee and Arthur Lee, Attorneys at Law.

Please click here for the “Super Lawyers List for Immigration 2024” and for the “Best Lawyers in America®”.

As published in the Immigration Daily on May 23, 2024

1. Formageddon Starting on June 3, 2024.

Formageddon is coming on Monday, June 3, as USCIS will require mandatory use of the 4/1/24 edition on over 50 forms on that day. Previously, the 4/1/24 edition was only mandatory on 4/1/24 for Forms I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, I-129 CW Petition for a CNMI- Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker, I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, I-600 Petition to Classify Orphan As an Immediate Relative, and I-600A Application for Advanced Processing of an Orphan Petition, So petitioners and applicants should check to ensure that the new form editions are being used on or after that date on the changing forms. This applies to popular forms like I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, I-485 Application to Register for Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, and I-907 Request for Premium Processing, etc. It should be noted that USCIS generally uses the postmark date to determine the form edition. As per its 3/29/24 FAQs, https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees/frequently-asked-questions-on-the-uscis-fee-rule, the postmark date on couriers like FedEx is the shipping date reflected on the courier receipt, and if there is no shipping date on the label, USCIS considers the date the sender printed the label to be the postmark date. If the label does not have a shipping date or print date, USCIS would then consider the postmark date to be 10 days before it received the package.  And in an ironic twist, USCIS is replacing the 4/1/24 edition with one dated 5/6/24 of Form I-941 Application for Entrepreneurial Parole, even before the 4/1/24 edition becomes mandatory for use!

2. A Blah for the June Visa Bulletin.

The June visa bulletin, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2024/visa-bulletin-for-june-2024.html, had hardly any forward movement at all in both family-based and employment-based cases. A few of the relevant changes except for family-based changes for Mexico and Philippines-born were: FB (Family-based) final action dates: F-2A ROW (Rest of the World) moved up 5 ½ months to 11/15/21 and F-3 ROW two months to 3/1/10. FB dates for filing: F-3 ROW jumped three months to 9/1/10. EB final action dates: Nothing moved except India’s EB-3 and EB-3W moving one week to 8/22/12. EB dates for filing: no movement whatsoever. There are warnings in the visa bulletin that both EB-2 and EB-3 worldwide will most likely retrogress in July. For the month, USCIS continues to accept FB dates for filing and EB final action dates for applications for adjustment of status to permanent residence, https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/visa-availability-priority-dates/when-to-file-your-adjustment-of-status-application-for-family-sponsored-or-employment-based-101 .

3. USCIS Published Processing Times a Waste of Time for F-4 Cases?

The agency about a year ago revised its procedures to make it easier on its personnel and for the public when petitioners, applicants, and attorneys wish to check on the status of petitions and applications pending with USCIS. https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/. To that end, it gave processing time dates and even included at the bottom a specific date by which a formal inquiry could be made on a pending matter. We had occasion to interface with the system as USCIS’ published processing times (for 80% of its cases) have plummeted on F-4 I-130 sibling petitions in its service centers to within five years. The site indicates the service center in Nebraska is at 27.5 months, Potomac 42 months, Vermont 42.5, California 50, Texas 51.5, and NVC 55.5 months – and our clients with F-4 petitions pending since 2013 started calling. With the site allowing inquiries, we sent a number to the service centers only to receive the following common response:

Cases with F4 classification are considered to be out of processing time when they are still pending with USCIS and the visa bulletin date is less than one year ahead of your petition receipt date… Your case will be assigned to an adjudication officer no later than one year prior to the date of visa availability… If you have not received correspondence from USCIS within 45 days of the availability date, please check the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov or call the USCIS contact center at 800-375-5283 for updated processing time information.

The question is why USCIS would encourage F-4 petitioners, beneficiaries, and their representatives to inquire about the cases when it does not truly intend to work on them until the priority dates are close to becoming current. In the month of June 2024, the F-4 ROW date is only up to July 22, 2007, 16+ years away.

As published in the Immigration Daily on March 25, 2024

1. The Ending of This Year’s H-1B Registration– What Are Your Odds?

With the final registration filed before noon Eastern Standard Time on March 25, 2024, the book now closes on H-1B cap registrations for the year. Pending the results, USCIS appears to have done a good job in implementing the February 2, 2024 final rule, “Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity”. The most important part – a fix to cut down on the rampant fraud of past years when USCIS moved from a full paper petition- based filing registration system to one simply based upon organization registration and payment of a small $10 fee to identify each of its candidates – was implementation of the beneficiary centric process through selection by unique beneficiary rather than by the number of organization registrations. In such process, even if 25 organizations put in registrations for the same beneficiary, the system would only identify the beneficiary once for purposes of selection rather than giving the beneficiary 25 chances.

So what are the odds? USCIS gave its forecast of the number of registrations that it expected to receive in another final rule, “USCIS Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedules and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements” on January 31, 2024 – 424,400. Assuming that the number is somewhat accurate, we believe that the percentage picked will be somewhere in the area of the low 30%’s based upon past selection records of the agency. Throwing out last year in which USCIS picked 188,400 after the hue and cry over the fraud which allowed 780,884 registrations, the average number of selections over the previous three years was 127,980 [1]. Such yields a selection rate of 30.15% of the 424,400 estimate, and would be an improvement over last year’s fiasco in which the selection rate was 24.1%. If the number selected is greater, or the number of individual beneficiaries less than estimated, the percentage of selection would be correspondingly higher than 30.15%. We can only hope.

Good luck to all participants in this year’s selection!

2. April 1 –Complex Intertwining of New Fees and Forms for Certain Applications and Petitions.

Unless blocked by litigation, the fee schedule implemented by the above final rule will come into effect on April 1, 2024. Many of the fee changes are straightforward, going from an old fee to a new fee, although some are humongous such as the fees for immigrant investors in which forms I-526 and I-526E for investors to file petitions either through individual or regional investment center investments move from $3,675 to $11,160 and for forms I-956 to apply for regional center designation and I-956F to request approval for investments in a commercial enterprise jump from $17,795 to $47,695.

The below are some of the more common petitions and forms that people use which not only feature changes in fee, but also tack on new charges to bring about more revenue to USCIS and/or to help cover the asylum program expenses.

• I-130 – Increase of $90 for online filing ($625), $140 for paper filings ($675) (required for concurrent I-485 filings).
• I-129 –H-1B – Increase of $320 on organizations with at least 26 ($780) and old fee of $460 for 25 and less and nonprofits + asylum program fee ($600 for employers with 26 employees, $300 with 25, and $0 for many nonprofits).
• I-129 –L-1 – Increase of $925 for companies 26 and over ($1385) and $695 fee for 25 and under and nonprofits + asylum program fee ($600 for employers with 26 employees, $300 with 25, and $0 for many nonprofits).
• I-129 –O-1 – Increase of $595 for companies 26 and over ($1055) and $530 fee for 25 and under and nonprofits + asylum program fee ($600 for employers with 26 employees, $300 with 25, and $0 for many nonprofits).
• I-140 – Increase of $15 ($715) + asylum program fee ($600 for employers with 26 employees, $300 with 25, and $0 for many nonprofits).
• I-485 – Increase of $215 for adults ($1440) and for child filing with one parent $200 ($950). For combination I-130/I-485 filings, $140 (I-130) plus $215 (I-485) = $355 more. Associated advance parole = $630 and EAD $260 (new fees).

Readers should check that the proper new fees are being submitted for cases postmarked to USCIS after March 31, 2024, to ensure that the petitions or applications are not rejected.

 3. April Visa Bulletin Movements and Projections.

The April Visa bulletin saw most movement in the Employment-Based (EB) final action dates chart with limited movement in the other three. Movement on the bulletin from March was as follows: FB (Family-based): B chart (dates for filing) India F-4 advanced one month two weeks to 4/8/06 and Philippines one year to 4/22/05. A chart (final action dates) F-2A advanced worldwide two months two weeks to 9/8/20 with the exception of Mexico which advanced two months to 8/15/20. EB (Employment-based) B chart (dates for filing) India EB-1 moved up three months to 4/1/21, its EB-3 advanced one month two weeks to 9/15/12 as did its EB-3W; EB-4 worldwide for ministers and for certain religious workers advanced 11 months to 12/1/20. A chart: (final action dates) China EB-1A advanced one month two weeks to 9/1/22 and India five months to 3/1/21; EB-2 ROW (Rest of World) advanced one month three weeks to 1/15/23 while China moved up one month to 2/1/20 and India one and ½ months to 4/15/12; EB-3 ROW moved one month two weeks to 11/22/22 and India advanced one month two weeks to 8/15/12; EB-3W ROW advanced one month to 10/8/20 and India one month two weeks to 8/15/12; EB-4 worldwide moved up 11 months to 11/1/20 and non-ministers went from 12/1/19 to unavailable. Unmentioned categories had no movement.

The State Department prediction of visa availability in coming months is that F-1 worldwide can advance up to three months; F-2A excluding Mexico up to six months; F-2B up to 10 weeks; F-3 several months; F-4 up to four weeks. In the EB categories, very little to no forward movement since the final action dates for many categories advanced for April 2024.

USCIS continued to use dates for filing for family-based cases and final action dates for employment-based in the month of April.

4. Unwritten Rule for Consular Processing.

In an AILA New York consular practice webinar in March, two former consular officers talked about unwritten rules and mentioned that it looks bad to the consulate when a person changes status in the US and then comes back for the visa because there is an intent issue with the consulate, especially where nonimmigrant intent is relevant, and this is a big no-no for people on tourist or business visas who may be able to get six months to stay, but the consular officer knows that most Americans would only stay a few weeks in a foreign country before going back.

5. New Worries for Chinese Graduate Students Reentering US.

This has become a hot button issue being reported on by the New York Times and Washington Post among others. Students and scholars from China with valid visas who take trips home are in danger of having their visas canceled and being sent home when they return to the US. This has happened to more than a dozen Chinese graduate students in PhD science programs at Yale, John Hopkins, and other major US research universities. In addition to having the visas canceled after being interrogated for hours, some wind up with a five-year ban on entry. Dulles Airport was reported as having the highest propensity to question and remove Chinese students so that the Chinese Embassy on January 29 warned Chinese students not to enter at that airport. Other mentioned airports in articles were Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare, and Boston Logan International Airport. For the foreseeable future, students and scholars from China in postgraduate science-related programs may wish to curtail nonessential trips back home.

[1] Figures from February 2, 2024 final rule, “Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity.”

As published in the Immigration Daily on January 31, 2024

1. Matter of Stockwell Brought Back to Beginning State.

Looking at the USCIS policy manual recently, it now entirely embraces Matter of Stockwell, 20 I&N Dec. 309 (BIA 1991), in which a person receiving conditional residence can marry someone else and that person can sponsor for permanent residence without having to go into the immigration court. USCIS had taken this route before, but complicated it later by saying that these applicants would have to go through the court, but now is coming back to the idea that USCIS can adjudicate.

This applies where USCIS has terminated the conditional residence for failure to timely file form I-751. Previously USCIS said that conditional residence could only be terminated by a formal notice by the agency. In the policy manual now, persons who file for adjustment of status from another marriage after the second anniversary of obtaining conditional residence, may be eligible to adjust on the new basis regardless of whether USCIS issues a notice of termination of status before the individual files an adjustment under the new basis. USCIS is now conceding that the INA provides that a conditional residence status terminates as a matter of law as of the second anniversary of the noncitizen’s lawful admission for resident status.

2. Another BIA Decision Affirms Rights of Conditional Residents through Marriage.

The BIA decided in a recent ruling, Matter of H.N. Ferreira, 28 I&N Dec. 765 (BIA 2023), to solve the problem of persons who do not have the above situation of another marriage in the wings; whom DHS believes have non-bona fide marriages, but in going to immigration court, have their cases terminated, and are left in legal limbo without lawful status. In Ferreira, the immigration judge (IJ) first concluded the DHS had not established removability and terminated and when the respondent filed another I-751, it was denied by USCIS and removal proceedings re-initiated. The IJ then terminated a second time because DHS could not find the file in two hearings. The BIA ruled that given the significance of a respondent’s interest in securing review of a denial of an I-751, an immigration judge should ordinarily review the denial of a form I-751 upon the request of the respondent.

As published in the Immigration Daily on January 22, 2024

1. USCIS Takes First Steps for H-1B Cap Season.

A big change for H-1B filings – both cap and non-cap with I-129 and I-907 is being announced to take effect in February to make everything electronic. USCIS is encouraging setting up organizational accounts to allow multiple people in an organization and legal representatives to collaborate and prepare H-1B registrations, I-129’s, and I-907’s. There will be two national engagements on organizational accounts on January 23 for companies and 24 for legal representatives as well as several smaller sessions leading up to the H-1B registration. The entire H-1B lifecycle then becomes fully electronic from registration to final decision and transmission to the Department of State. For those still doing paper filings, USCIS will transition the paper filing location from service centers to the USCIS lockbox.

This is a good change to further save the forests of the world. USCIS will have shrunk its H-1B paper footprint from two copies to the present one copy to the future no copy. If this had been announced earlier, it would have given USCIS the option of demanding complete petition filings of all interested parties instead of soliciting registrations of organizations if the new beneficiary centric registration system was not yet ready for this year’s H-1B cap selection process.

2. Policy Manual on F-1 and M-1 Students Clarifies Points of Law and Procedure.

Perusing the USCIS policy manual pertaining to nonimmigrant students, there are some new and old policies of which readers should be aware of or remember:

1. The policy manual on F or M-1 status now says that officers generally view the fact that a student is the beneficiary of an approved or pending permanent labor certification or immigrant visa petition as not necessarily impacting eligibility for the classification, so long as the student intends to depart at the end of the temporary period of stay – that in all cases, the officer must consider all facts presented when determining whether the student is eligible for F or M classification.
2. F-1 students may be eligible for public high school for one year after paying the school district the real cost of schooling, but there is no F-1 study allowed in public schools for elementary grade children.
3. When a student is transferring between schools or programs, the limit is five months that he or she is allowed before resuming classes at the transfer school or program, or within five months of the program completion date on the I-20 – whichever date is the earlier.
4. The policy manual reminds students on STEM OPT extensions that they have duties not only to report change of address or employer or loss of employment within 10 days of the change to the DSO, but also to complete a validation report every six months to the DSO within 10 business days of each reporting date; and submit a self-evaluation of progress toward the training goals described in the I-983 prior to the conclusion of the STEM OPT period, and both student and employer must sign each evaluation to attest to its accuracy. There must be an initial evaluation within 12 months, and a concluding evaluation.
5. On travel outside the US during the cap-gap period and returning under F-1 status, the policy manual says that travel is permitted where USCIS has approved the H-1B petition and request for change of status; the student seeks readmission before the date of the student’s H-1B employment beginning (normally October 1), and the student is otherwise admissible. If traveling when the application for change of status is pending, the change of status portion is deemed abandoned.

Knowing or remembering the rules may serve to keep the nonimmigrant student from running afoul of the intricacies of the law in this area.

As published in the Immigration Daily on October 24, 2023

1. EAD’s Increased to Five Years for Many Categories – Question.

USCIS on 9/27/23 announced that it is increasing the length of time for EAD’s in certain categories to five years for initial and renewal EAD’s. These include applicants for asylum or withholding, adjustment under section 245, and suspension or cancellation of removal cases. Also those admitted as refugees, paroled as refugees, and granted asylum or withholding. It clarified that certain Afghan and Ukrainian parolees are employment authorized incident to parole.

Question: As is known, an EAD is only an ancillary application dependent upon the fate of the principal benefit being requested. How does an employer in good faith who does not use E-Verify know that the job applicant is no longer authorized to work when the principal immigration application has been denied since the job applicant will still be presenting an immigration document that is still facially valid for employment as it is one of the documents on the I-9 “A” list that establishes both identity and employment authorization? While recognizing that USCIS has better things to do with its time than constantly extending employment authorization, perhaps a lesser amount of time, three instead of five years, would be more appropriate.

2. Keeping Straight Ukrainian and Venezuelan TPS Timetables

With extensions and re-designations to the TPS programs of Ukrainians and Venezuelans, we thought to offer a short timetable of the benefits for each nationality to make them clearer as to deadlines to apply, date to be in the US for eligibility, and time limits of stay:

Ukrainians:

• First registration was from 4/19/22-10/20/23.
• Extension goes from 10/20/23-4/19/25.
• Re-registration for extension is from 8/21/23-10/20/23.
• Redesignation for those continuously resident in US since 8/16/23 and physically resident in US on 10/20/23 and thereafter.
• Redesignation also goes from 10/20/23-4/19/25.
• Registration period for redesignated goes from 8/21/23-4/19/25.
• Expected eligible Ukrainians for redesignation are 166,700 in addition to the 26,000 eligible for extension under the initial program.

Venezuelans:

• First registration and extensions were until 9/9/22 and 3/10/24.
• New TPS extension announced by DHS on 9/20/23 until 9/10/25.
• Reregistration for extension goes from 1/10/24-3/10/24.
• Redesignation for those continuously residing in the US since 7/31/23 and continuously physically present in the US since 10/3/23.
• Redesignation time goes from 10/8/23-4/2/25.
• Registration date for initial registration goes from 10/3/23-4/2/25.
• Expected eligible Venezuelans for redesignation or 472,000 in addition to the 243,000 eligible for extension under the initial program.

More complete information can be found for Ukrainians in the Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 160 / Monday, August 21, 2023, and for Venezuelans in the Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 3, 2023.

3. USCIS Adjudicating Dependent Nonimmigrant Applications Almost Simultaneously with Principal Petitions.

In case you missed it, USCIS posted a notice on its I-129 page that for H-4 and L-2 dependents who are applying in the same package with their principal’s I-129 petition, it will adjudicate the dependent I-539 application(s) directly after approving the I-129 petition. This includes H-4 and L-2 work authorization requests. The news is welcome to all as USCIS in the past adjudicated the dependent applications separately and could take weeks or months to make a decision, leaving a family in suspense even though knowing that the dependent application(s) would in all likelihood be approved. Hardship could arise in the situation where the dependent spouse was waiting for approval of employment authorization to take up or continue employment. The new policy may encourage the use of premium processing for the entire case in such situations. We remind dependents that no biometrics fee is required for the I-539 and that a mistaken combination payment for I-539 and biometrics will result in rejection of the application and upon resubmission not considered to be part of the above policy unless the I-129 was simultaneously rejected and the entire package resubmitted at the same time.

The 2023 annual list for the top attorneys in the New York Metro area is out and Alan Lee, Esq., was again selected as a Super Lawyer for New York City. He is one of only 3 lawyers of Chinese descent in the 82 attorneys chosen in the area of immigration law.

This is the 12^th time that Alan Lee has been selected, having previously been honored in 2011, 2013-2022.  He exclusively practices U. S. Immigration and Nationality Law with his son and partner, Arthur Lee, ESQ, in the law firm, Alan Lee and Arthur Lee, Attorneys at Law.

Please click here for the “Super Lawyers List for Immigration 2023“

As published in the Immigration Daily on June 21, 2023

1. To photo or not for applications like N-400 filings not requiring them?

Do you submit photographs to USCIS for applications that do not require them, such as N-400 naturalization applications (only those residing overseas are asked to submit two passport photos with the application)? The answer is not as easy as it seems, as there are pros and cons. Why submit photos which are not asked for? For a lawyer, it may make him/her look less competent in the eyes of a client who reads the form instructions if he/she asks for photographs? It may also slow down processing time in the attorney’s office, as the rest of the materials can be scanned and emailed over. And what of N-400 situations previously when the agency required photos, and then the officer requested another set at the time of interview? In that case, a client would be taking two sets of photos. We recently had a case in which the applicant brought photos to the naturalization interview (not on submission); they were not requested; and yet requested at the swearing-in ceremony at which time the applicant had left the photos at home! USCIS is generally re-using as many of the old biometrics as it can in the interest of reducing the time that its personnel have to spend on biometrics appointments. It is a good stratagem as fingerprints do not change, and has been universally applauded. (It should be remarked that persons not encountered previously by USCIS still have to attend biometrics appointments such as those entering on immigrant visas unless they were subsequently fingerprinted and photographed by USCIS). For waived biometrics appointments, the agency has also been using photographs that it has in the file. In a case last week, the interviewing officer requested photos saying that the ones in the system were too old. Luckily the client had brought photos and did not have to go outside the building, take photos, and then return. USCIS special instructions to form N-400 simply say that based on processing needs, an applicant may need to submit photographs after filing the N-400, and if so, USCIS will send a request along with instructions on how to submit the physical photographs. So do you submit unasked for photos for the filing, or do you carry photos to the interview, or do you not worry about photos at all since they are not requested? We have had other interviews in which the client offered photos which were rejected by the officer as not needed.

2. Where are all the I-601A cases going?

We have had a number of I-601A provisional unlawful presence waiver cases transferred lately, and wonder whether they are headed to the location provided in the transfer notice, the Potomac Service Center, or if they will be headed ultimately to the new virtual remote HART (Humanitarian, Adjustments, Removing Conditions, and Travel Documents) Service Center that is opening at this time in order to speed up processing as a result of pending litigation. Of special interest to us is that the remote center will concentrate on I-601A’s as well as “bona fide determinations” for U visa applicants (I-918), VAWA petitions (I-360), and asylum reunification petitions (I-730). In an article written by a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, Dara Lind, “New USCIS Center Is Good News For Some Of Its Worst Backlog Victims”, Immigration Daily, 4/19/23, she said that the Council documented in a recent class-action lawsuit that processing times for I-601A grew sixfold from 2017 to 2022, and that of the two service centers handling the waivers, it is taking three years at one center and 3 ½ in another one to decide 80% of the waivers. Attorneys in the lawsuit estimate that the class of people who have waivers pending for more than 12 months would include at least 70,000 people. In favor of the ultimate destination being HART, it otherwise makes little sense to transfer from the Nebraska Service Center to the Potomac Service Center since both have a current published processing time of 44 months for 80% of the cases.

3. New vetting center for specific affirmative asylum cases.

In the past, asymmetrical affirmative asylum cases have been filed at service centers and then later at local asylum offices. Now USCIS has created a new vetting center in Atlanta, Georgia, to have one clear address at which these atypical cases can be filed. They are the following cases with USCIS instructions:

• Loss of Derivative Status After Asylum Approval but Before Adjustment of Status (Nunc Pro Tunc):If you are currently a derivative asylee, but you are unable to adjust status to lawful permanent resident due to a loss of derivative relationship, then you may submit a new Form I-589 and request a grant of asylum nunc pro tunc. In your letter, please provide information about your previous Form I-589 and explain that you are now filing independently as a principal applicant.
• Loss of Derivative Status After Initial Filing but Before Final Decision:If you withdrew from a principal’s Form I-589 as a dependent, or if you lost derivative status by marriage, divorce, or death of the principal applicant, then you may submit a Form I-589 as a principal applicant. In your letter, please provide information about your previous Form I-589 and explain that you are now filing independently as a principal applicant.
• Simultaneous Filing as a Principal Applicant and a Derivative Applicant:If you are already listed as a derivative applicant on another pending Form I-589, you may file a Form I-589 as a principal applicant. Also, you and your spouse may file separate Forms I-589 at the same time as principal applicants and list each other as derivative applicants. In your letter, please provide information about any previous Form I-589 and explain that you are now filing independently as a principal applicant.
• Previously Issued a Final Action by USCIS on a Form I-589:If you previously filed Form I-589 with USCIS, you may be eligible to file a new Form I-589 with USCIS if you have not been placed into immigration court proceedings after USCIS denied or dismissed your Form I-589, including if we dismissed it after you withdrew your Form I-589.
• Previously in Immigration Court Proceedings: If you have reason to believe we have jurisdiction over your Form I-589 and you were previously in immigration court proceedings, then you may submit a Form I-589.
• The address of the vetting center is:

Mailing by U.S. Postal Service (USPS):

USCIS Asylum Vetting Center
P.O. Box 57100
Atlanta, GA 30308-0506

Mailing by FedEx, UPS or DHL:

DHS-USCIS Asylum Vetting Center
401 W. Peachtree St. NW, Suite 1000
Atlanta, GA 30308