The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) engages with the public by:
- Hosting stakeholder meetings, listening sessions, and national webinars to help identify problems individuals and employers encounter when dealing with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
- Promoting open and transparent communication between USCIS, applicants and petitioners, and other immigration stakeholders.
Sign up for our email updates for webinar invitations, tip sheets, and other updates. Past updates are available on the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman News and Updates page. You can follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Upcoming Webinars
Stay tuned for our future webinars.
Sign up for our email updates for webinar invitations, tip sheets, and other updates.
We meet with stakeholders who have an interest in the immigration system. This includes businesses, advocacy organizations, legal providers, nonprofits, educational institutions, congressional offices, religious organizations, federal/state/local government agencies, and foreign embassies and consulates.
Our headquarters team meets with groups from all areas, with a particular focus on national and international organizations and businesses, foreign embassies and consulates, and headquarters-level components of other federal government departments and agencies.
We also have regional representatives who engage with local stakeholders, including employers, community-based organizations, regional and local government entities, educational institutions, and congressional offices to build and strengthen relationships, clarify our case assistance process, learn about issues and trends they are seeing with USCIS, and inform our recommendations to USCIS.
To request a meeting with us, email:
| Coverage area | Email address | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | All areas, with a particular focus on national and international organizations and businesses, foreign embassies and consulates, and headquarters-level components of other federal government departments and agencies | CISOmbudsman.PublicAffairs@hq.dhs.gov |
| Central region | Arizona (not including Yuma) Colorado Illinois Iowa Kansas Michigan Minnesota Missouri Texas Nebraska Nevada New Mexico North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota Utah Wisconsin Wyoming | CISOmbudsman.Central@hq.dhs.gov |
| Northeast region | Connecticut Delaware Indiana Kentucky Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey New York Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Vermont West Virginia | CISOmbudsman.Northeast@hq.dhs.gov |
| Southeast region | Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Louisiana Maryland Mississippi North Carolina Puerto Rico South Carolina Tennessee U.S. Virgin Islands and Caribbean Islands Virginia Washington, D.C. | CISOmbudsman.Southeast@hq.dhs.gov |
| Western region | Alaska American Samoa Arizona (Yuma only) California Guam Hawaii Idaho Montana Northern Mariana Islands Oregon Washington | CISOmbudsman.Western@hq.dhs.gov |
Summaries, presentations, and questions and answers from recent webinars are below.
July 30, 2024
The CIS Ombudsman's Webinar Series: 2024 Annual Report
We hosted a webinar on our 2024 Annual Report to Congress. The summary of the webinar and the presentation have been posted.
April 30, 2024
Joint Webinar with USCIS on the HART Service Center
We hosted a joint webinar with USCIS on the one-year anniversary of the HART Service Center. The summary of the webinar and the presentation have been posted. The questions and answers from the webinar can be found here: HART Service Center Frequently Asked Questions.
February 29, 2024
Joint Webinar with USCIS on its New Fee Rule
We hosted a joint webinar on USCIS' final rule to update certain immigration and naturalization fees. The summary of the webinar and the presentation have been posted.
Summaries, presentations, and questions and answers from webinars that occurred over six months ago are below. To see questions and answers from all past webinars, please see our Webinar Questions and Answers page.
2023
- October 30, 2023: Engagement with USCIS on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program<
- September 26, 2023: Engagement with USCIS on Customer Experience Enhancements
- July 19, 2023: Engagement with USCIS on the Naturalization Test Redesign Initiative
- July 11, 2023: 2023 Annual Report to Congress
- June 27, 2023: Engagement with USCIS on the Streamlined, Fee-Exempted Re-parole Application Process for Certain Afghan Nationals
- January 19, 2023: Listening Session: Immigration Concerns and Options for Laid-Off Foreign Workers
2022
- October 27, 2022: Employment-Based Immigrant Visas: Looking Back at Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and Ahead to FY 2023 with USCIS
- September 21, 2022: Fireside Chat with CIS Ombudsman Phyllis Coven and USCIS Director Ur Jaddou
- August 25, 2022: Interagency Engagement on International Student Issues
- August 16, 2022: Overview of USCIS Online Accounts for Attorneys and Accredited Representatives
- July 19, 2022: 2022 Annual Report
- June 22, 2022: USCIS' Backlog Reduction Efforts
- May 26, 2022: Employment-Based Immigrant Visas - A Conversation with USCIS on the Statutory Framework and Pandemic Challenges
- February 7, 2022: Listening Session: DHS Form 7001, Case Assistance Form
- January 20, 2022: Overview of myUSCIS for Applicants
2021
- October 14, 2021: Listening Session: Getting to Know the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman
- August 24, 2021: USCIS Introduces Online Filing for Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
- August 2, 2021: Services for Noncitizen Veterans
- July 14, 2021: 2021 Annual Report to Congress
- June 23, 2021: Naturalization and Immigrant Integration
- May 5, 2021: USCIS Introduces Online Filing for Form I-765 for F-1 Students Seeking OPT
- April 14, 2021: USCIS Contact Center
- March 31, 2021: USCIS’ Online Filing and Customer Service Tools
- March 4, 2021: Overview of the H-1B Electronic Registration Process for Attorneys and Representatives
- January 13, 2021: How the DHS is Combating Human Trafficking and Forced Labor in Imported Goods
2020
- November 19, 2020: USCIS and CIS Ombudsman Joint Engagements on USCIS’ Current State of Operations (Session Two)
- October 28, 2020: USCIS and CIS Ombudsman Joint Engagements on USCIS’ Current State of Operations (Session One)
- October 7, 2020: USCIS’ Processing of Concurrently Pending Forms N-400 and Forms I-751
- September 29, 2020: Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Law
- February 20, 2020: USCIS H-1B Registration Process
- February 13, 2020: Best Practices for Filing USCIS Forms