- December 29, 2011
- Category: EB-1, Ombudsman
On December 29, 2011, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman released a series of recommendations on improving the quality of extraordinary ability and other employment-based petitions.
The background of these recommendations is that USCIS had issued policy guidance which applied a Ninth Circuit decision, Poghos Kazarian v. US Citizenship and Immigration Services, to Form I-140, employment-based petitions filed for individuals with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and exceptional ability professionals. Stakeholders report that petitions adjudicated under this I-140 policy memo have resulted in decisions that are unfair, opaque, and inconsistent.
The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman has recommended that USCIS:
- Conduct formal rulemaking to clarify the regulatory standard, and if desired, explicitly incorporate a final merits determination into the regulations; and
- In the interim, provide public guidance on the application of a final merits determination; and
- In the interim, provide ISOs with additional guidance and training on the proper application of preponderance of the evidence standard when adjudicating EB-1-1, EB-1-2, and EB-2 petitions.
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