The Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman has recently filed its yearly report to Congress.
The report contains recommendations aimed at establishing more efficient processes to better serve people and businesses seeking immigration benefits from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to a July 1 DHS news release.
"There’s no greater barrier to the immigration process than the backlogs currently confronting USCIS,” Phyllis A. Coven, CIS Ombudsman stated. “Our 2022 report examines the ‘snowball’ effects and pain points associated with USCIS’s unprecedented processing delays and recommends actions it can take to address the consequences that individuals and the agency have faced due to these delays."
Highlights of the 2022 annual report include an analysis of USCIS processing backlogs, advance parole request processes and obstacles for asylum seekers acquiring proof of work authorization, according to the release. In addition, the report contains summaries of two official recommendations previously sent to USCIS in 2022.
The CIS Ombudsman, which is independent of the USCIS, was established by Congress as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to serve as a point of contact between the general public and the DHS for immigration benefits concerns, as reported in the release.
