Processing at the Los Angeles USCIS District Office

10. January 2010 by admin.

On January 8, 2010, I had a chance to tour the Los Angeles USCIS district office with other American Immigration Lawyer Association attorneys. While I have been to the LA office before representing clients, this was the first time I received an actual tour from USCIS staff. It was very informative to see how the USCIS continues to make progress into becoming a customer-service oriented agency.
 
We had a chance to meet with the director of the LA office, Dianne Armenteros. Dianne struck me as a person who 1) really cares about the applicants who go through the immigration process, 2) believes in the USCIS mission and its impact on applicants, and is making a serious effort to encourage CIS staff to be as customer service oriented as possible.
 
Dianne told the story of an individual who applied for a permission to leave the US. He found out that his mother was dying, and he needed to get on a plane as soon as possible to head back to China. Because he was in the midst of applying for a green card, he needed permission from the USCIS to leave and later reenter the US. Failure to do so would have lead the USCIS to consider him to have abandoned his adjustment of status application. He would have then had to reapply for an immigrant visa back home in China.
 
It was encouraging to hear Dianne talk about the efforts her office made to accommodate this individual. The staff worked really hard to pull his file, review his application, and approve his request to leave and reenter. This was all done within an extremely short time frame of about 24 hours. He was able to obtain permission to leave, and he left immediately to be with his family.
 
I know that the USCIS has been given a bad rap in the past for poor customer service. The agency struggles with constant regulatory changes, increasing numbers of applications, and a shrinking budget. Yet, it’s pleasantly surprising to see the hard work that individuals at the USCIS are putting in to better processes. I’m excited about the changes that Ms. Armenteros shared with us that will affect the LA office. I think it’ll continue to simplify the application process, and make working with the local USCIS offices much easier.
 
If you are thinking about submitting an application to the LA USCIS district office, please do not hesitate to contact me  at 626-771-1078 to tap into my experience with this busy office

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