LAC WINS RELEASE OF H-1B FRAUD DOCUMENTS FROM USCIS

Some good news - earlier this week USCIS released in full the remaining contested documents in a FOIA lawsuit brought by the American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center on behalf of AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers Association). AILA v. DHS, filed in July 2010, sought the public release of records concerning USCIS fraud investigations in the H-1B program. The agency's H-1B visa review and processing procedures have caused confusion and concern among U.S. businesses that legitimately depend on temporary foreign workers with specialized knowledge to operate successfully. Since 2008, USCIS has implemented new, more stringent procedures and have dramatically increased the frequency of unannounced worksite inspections, yet has kept the rules and guidelines related to the review process secret. In its initial response to the suit, USCIS released only a few heavily redacted documents. Later, in response to AILA’s motion for summary judgment, USCIS released additional records, but continued to withhold unredacted versions of critical records. Finally, in response to the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment to AILA in March 2012, which found USCIS’s explanations for withholding the records insufficient, USCIS released in unredacted form the remaining contested documents: 1) an October 31, 2008 USCIS memorandum on H-1B Anti-Fraud Initiatives, 2) an H-1B Petition Fraud Referral Sheet , and 3) a Compliance Review Report. A more detailed review from AILA will be forthcoming shortly but this is good news in trying to keep the agency more transparent and help us know what to anticipate.