Today’sWashington Post outlines the USCIS’attempts to move out of the paper age and into the electronic age. After 10 years and a $1 billion, the USCIShas one form on-line, the I-90,which is used to renew a Green Card. Forthose unfamiliar with the Form I-90, it is comparable to a driver’s licenserenewal form. Ninety-nine other forms remainonly available via paper filing.
The project wasoriginally supposed to be completed by 2013 at a budget of a half-billiondollars. The USCIS now expects the programto be on-line in 2019 at a cost of $3.1 billion, although if history is anyguide it will be years beyond that at a even greater costs.
Part of the problemis the “gotcha” nature of the forms themselves, which is indicative of a tone-deafUSCIS. The forms often ask irrelevantand unnecessary questions, aimed presumably at tripping up users.
Instead of focusingon the e-filing initiative, the USCIS chooses to waste time and resources. For instance, the Simeio Solutions decision in April adds tens of thousands ofpetitions to the USCIS without any legal necessity. The entire goal of the decision seems to beto make life difficult for H-1B workers who switch job locations. There is no evidence that any legitimatepolicy goal was achieved by the decision. If anything the decision and the later multiple USCIS Memos thatattempted to clarify the decision, arecontrary to PresidentObama’s attempts to modernize US immigration policy and align it with thereal world.
A good programmanagement team would start with the essential questions before building outquestions that are not core to the adjudication of the process. A good program management team would engageusers of the forms – immigrants, companies, immigration attorneys.
Until thesestakeholders are regularly engaged, skeptics will continue to criticize. Until the administration makes it a priorityto hold USCIS officials accountable for aimless policy and bloated budgets, theUSCIS will continue its bumbling nature.