Kate
Voigt, on behalf of AILA and ASISTA
USCIS–2007–0024-0044
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The
proposed new form version adds an additional six pages in an
apparent contradiction of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
FORM
INSTRUCTIONS
Page
1 number 3 under the heading, “What Is the Purpose of This
Petition?”: Remove self-petitioning parent of an abusive
U.S. citizen son or daughter in “I. Others”, number
3, and include it in number 4.
Page
5: Add a check box on the Form I-360 for the abused parent of
U.S. citizen son or daughter, or amend the Note on the bottom of
page 5 to read, “Since there is not a separate check box
for a battered or abused parent of a U.S. citizen son or
daughter, select the “other” category if filing under
this classification. If not possible, amend the Note on the
bottom of page 5.
Page
6, mailing address: Delete the first sentence, i.e. “Provide
your mailing address, if different from your home address.”
Page
6, amend the note in the middle of the page to read, in part:
“NOTE: You may file a self-petition within two years of the
date of the abuser’s death, the abuser’s loss of
status if the loss is for reasons related to the domestic
violence, or within two years of the termination of marriage if
there is a connection between the termination of the marriage and
the battery or extreme cruelty…”
Page
7, employment authorization: Instead of providing only “YES’
or “No” answers, the form provide boxes for (c)(31),
(c)(9), and (c)(14).
Page
11, #5, Part 11, Petitioner’s Statement, Contact
Information, Acknowledgement of Appointment at USCIS Application
Support Center, Certification, and Signature: Acknowledge and
cite the special protections for releasing information under 8
USC § 1367.
Page
13, USCIS Privacy Act Statement: If the Form I-360 is used for
Violence Against Women Act relief, it should explicitly be stated
that the information contained in this form is protected under 8
USC § 1367.
Page
14, Routine Uses: It should be stated that the information
contained in the Form I-360 will not be shared with federal,
state, local and foreign government agencies unless specifically
permitted under 8 USC § 1367.
FORM
Page
1, Part 1, Information About Person or Organization Filing this
Petition: Clarify what is meant in the context of “Petitioner”.
An explanation as to how (or if) a VAWA self-petitioner should
use this first section would be beneficial given that VAWA
applicants have traditionally been defined as petitioners. In
other words, should the VAWA self-petitioner list his or her
information in both Part 2 and Part 3, or if some other format
was intended.
Page
1, Part 1 number 6: Recommend including an instruction line
stating that if the applicant is filing a VAWA self-petition,
they are encouraged to also submit a safe address where
correspondence can securely be received, and refer them to Part
3.
Page
2, Part 2. Classification Request: Recommend that “Battered
or Abused Parent of a U.S. Citizen Son or Daughter” receive
its own box, as it is the only VAWA category not to have its own
designation and its absence could cause confusion.
Page
14, Part 10, Question 12 – Employment Authorization:
Recommend that instead of providing only “Yes” or
“No” answers, the form provide boxes for (c)(31),
(c)(9), and (c)(14).
Page
15, Part 11- Acknowledgement of Appointment at USCIS Application
Support Center: Recommend eliminating this entire section from
the form.
Page
15, Part 11—Petitioner’s Certification: Object to
this provision and don’t believe that the petitioner should
be compelled to allow USCIS to retrieve non-public information or
release the petitioner’s information to any branch of the
U.S. government, private companies, or the government of foreign
countries.
Page
15, Part 11—Release of Information Clarification: Requiring
self-petitioners to sign a general release of information,
without acknowledging the congressionally mandated constraints on
such information-sharing, violates 8 USC § 1367. We suggest
adding the following language: “I furthermore authorize
release of information contained in this petition, in supporting
documents, and in my USCIS records, to other entities and persons
where necessary for the administration of the U.S. immigration
laws. I am not, however,
waiving the special protections under 8 USC § 1367.
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Some of the edits, reorganizing, and
reformatting have increased page length, but the form was
reformatted so the document:
Separated
pair data collections into single data collections (i.e., State
is its own field, Province is its own field)
Added
line spacing between collection to make the form easier to read
Added
standard signature sections that are used on all USCIS
collections
In
a brief comparison of the current and proposed forms, while many
things were added and taken away, it looks like separating data
fields for better readability, added a lot of space.
USCIS has added new classifications
to the form and related instructions to the form, made clarifying
edits for existing classifications, and incorporated a fact sheet
for employment-based fourth preference (EB-4) petitioners. The
actual increase in burden for each of the respective
classifications as a result of these changes is minimal.
USCIS will consider creating separate appendices for specific
categories in the upcoming revisions, after reviewing system
requirements, resources, and deployment schedules and priorities.
Accepted—removed
“Self-petitioning Parent of an abusive U.S. citizen son or
daughter” from “I”, included it in “4”,
and changed the wording from “Self-petitioning parents of
an abusive U.S. citizen son or daughter” to “Abused
parent of a U.S. citizen son or daughter”.
Not
accepted for adding a check box at this time, but will consider
it as well as all input from stakeholders in future revisions of
our forms. However, accepted revising the note on page 5 to read,
“Since there is not a separate check box for a battered or
abused parent of a U.S. citizen son or daughter, select the
“other” category if filing under this classification.
Accepted
and deleted the first sentence after “Alternate and/or Safe
Address”.
Accepted,
and amended “NOTE” as follows: NOTE: You may file a
self-petition within two years of the date of the abuser’s
death, within two years of the abuser’s loss of status if
the loss is for reasons related to domestic violence, or within
two years of the termination of the marriage if there is a
connection between the termination of the marriage and the
battery or extreme cruelty. For self-petitioning spouses, you may
remarry after USCIS approves your self-petition without affecting
your eligibility to become a lawful permanent resident or be
grounds for revocation of the approved self-petition.
Not
accepted because category (c)(31) will automatically be given to
self-petitioners residing in the United States incident to
status/approval without having to file Form I-765. If (c)(9) or
(c)(14) is desired, then the self-petitioner must submit Form
I-765 requesting that category.
Not
accepted because reference to the special protections for
releasing information under 8 USC §1367 were added in the
“USCIS Privacy Act Statement” section on page 13.
Accepted
and added this language to the end of that section, i.e. “If
this petition is used to obtain relief under the Violence Against
Women Act, the information contained herein is also protected
under 8 USC § 1367.”
Accepted,
and added the following statement to the end of that section: “If
the information contained in the Form I-360 is protected under 8
USC § 1367, any sharing with federal, state, local, or
foreign government agencies will be done in accordance with 8 USC
§ 1367.”
Accepted
and revised the “NOTE” under Part 1 to read, “You
must complete Part 1 as the Petitioner if you are filing this
petition on behalf of another person. If you are a Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioner or a special immigrant
juvenile skip to Part 1 Item 7”
Not
accepted because this is already explained in Part 1 number 7.
Accepted
and added a box for “Battered or Abused Parent of a U.S.
Citizen Son or Daughter”.
Not
accepted because category (c)(31) will automatically be given to
self-petitioners residing in the United States incident to
status/approval without having to file Form I-765. If (c)(9) or
(c)(14) is desired, then the self-petitioner must submit Form
I-765 requesting that category.
Not
accepted because this is standard language used on USCIS forms.
The applicant is not acknowledging a specific ASC appointment,
but rather the purpose of the ASC appointment and what will be
done at the appointment.
Not
accepted to remove this section from the contents of the
petition, but will add, “If the information contained in
the Form I-360 is protected under 8 USC § 1367, any sharing
with federal, state, local or foreign government agencies will be
done in accordance with 8 USC § 1367.” , and will add
this sentence between the second to the last and last paragraphs
in the section. (So after the sentence beginning, “I
furthermore,” and before the sentence, “I certify”.)
Accepted and will add the suggested sentence
at the end.
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