The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) invites you to participate in a webinar highlighting our 2024 Annual Report to Congress on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
On June 28, we submitted our 2024 Annual Report to Congress. Each year, our office conducts a substantive analysis and makes recommendations to address some of the most significant challenges individuals and employers encounter when seeking immigration benefits from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
During the webinar, CIS Ombudsman staff will discuss the topics covered in this year’s report. These include:
- Year in Review: An overview of 2023 for both USCIS and the CIS Ombudsman
- Recommendations for a Proactive Approach to Collecting Biometrics from Asylum Applicants in Removal Proceedings
- Reexamining the Administration of the English Portion of the Naturalization Test
- USCIS’ Prioritization Dilemmas: Lessons from the Form I-601A Backlog
- Lost Mail and the Challenges of Delivering USCIS Documents
- Meeting the Growing Demand for Employment Authorization Documents
- Clarifying Processing Times to Improve Inquiries and Manage Expectations
- Looking Backward, Looking Forward: Thoughts on the Future of USCIS
During the webinar, participants will be able to submit questions and comments in real time.
Why This Is Important
As an independent office, we are not part of USCIS. A key part of our mission is to use an impartial lens to examine the challenges USCIS faces and provide potential solutions. Our work is informed by the case assistance requests we receive along with feedback from engagements with individuals, employers, immigrant-serving organizations, government agencies, and other entities across the country. This year’s report offers 33 recommendations to improve USCIS operations, refine processing and policy issues, and address some of the agency’s largest challenges.
To Join
Please join the webinar on Tuesday, July 30 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time by clicking on this Teams link. Registration is not required. For more information on attending a Teams event, see Microsoft’s Attend a live event in Teams page.
If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the webinar, please contact us by email at CISOmbudsman.publicaffairs@hq.dhs.gov no later than Friday, July 19, 2024. Live captions are available in Microsoft Teams, and you can learn more on the Use live captions in a Teams meeting page.
More Information
For more information and to read previous annual reports and USCIS’ responses, visit our Annual Report to Congress page.