BCIS Publicizes Services Offered By The National Customer Service Center

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Obtaining Lawful Permanent Residence Status

BCIS PUBLICIZES SERVICES OFFERED BY THE NATIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 17, No. 5, September 4, 2003

The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services has posted detailed information on its Web site regarding the use of the National Customer Service Center (NCSC). For many kinds of inquiries and services, the agency has made the NCSC the point of contact, rather than the service center or local BCIS office where an application or petition may be pending. The information is contained in a memo, which provides direction as to which requests should first be directed to a service center or local office, and which should be directed to the NCSC. The memo may be accessed at www.bcis.gov/graphics/services/ncsc.htm.

The memo notes that NCSC customer service representatives have access to the same information about the general processing of a case that is directly available to customers through the automated case status function, which may also be accessed through the BCIS Web site or by telephone (see "INS Establishes Online Case Status Service," IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS UPDATE, Nov. 22, 2002, p. 6).

In May, the agency initiated filing by e-mail of two commonly used forms, Form I?90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, and Form I?765, Application for Employment Authorization, and the agency has plans to expand e-mail filing to other forms. The increasing use of automatic services may ultimately improve the agency's ability to respond to inquiries. However, as part of the process of implementing the NCSC inquiry system, the BCIS severely limited direct phone access to the service centers, and many attorneys and representatives have complained that this has made it much more difficult to access information and correct errors.