January 10, 2008

Case Processing At Consulates - Beware

Update: New PIMS System
Cite as "AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 07121072 (posted Dec. 10, 2007)"

**Be careful when you are presenting documents for visa stamping. Make sure that all documents that you submit to the Consulate were submitted to the USCIS when your case was processed there.

The AILA DOS Liaison Committee has been in active communication with DOS about the PIMS (Petition Information Management System) rollout since it was suddenly revealed by a post, advocating for more transparency and advance notification in new initiatives and seeking clarifications and modifications to the PIMS program.

Under PIMS, I-129 petitions requesting consular notification as the procedural benefit are sent to KCC after approval. KCC enters key data from the petition into PIMS and scans in key documents such as I-129 form, employer support letter, and identification documents of beneficiary. KCC also performs some database checks looking for evidence of fraud, violations, or other adverse history and records (including from SEVIS) and records its findings in PIMS. When a post is ready to grant a visa based on a petition (and apparently this includes derivatives), it must confirm the petition in PIMS before issuance. DOS knows that USCIS has not been sending change of status or extension of stay petitions to KCC at all, and we expect that interagency discussions are underway about changing that. We know also that even some consular notification petitions have not been sent to KCC. Any petition not sent to KCC will not show up in PIMS, and there may be other reasons why a petition sent to KCC does not show up in PIMS. When a post does not find a petition in PIMS, it must email to KCC, which unlike posts has direct access to USCIS' CLAIMS3 system where USCIS records petition approvals. KCC will record the fact of the petition approval and any other information it chooses, and when posts check PIMS they can find the information on which visa approval can be based. But until the post sees the petition in PIMS, the visa cannot be granted.

As for the purpose and effect of PIMS, DOS states, "We're seeing lots of good at this end. The vast majority of cases are going through quickly and we're finding forged and altered I-797s, companies that no longer exist and, in a few cases, companies that never existed to begin with. Some law firms have complained about cases but when we ask for specifics, turns out we're talking isolated cases numbering in the ones and twos rather than larger numbers. Of course, there have certainly been growing pains, and I'm sure there are many problems we're not hearing about, but I think we can work together to make this a success." It appears that the PIMS effort is funded significantly with the proceeds of the H and L fraud fee.

DOS states that KCC is responding to posts within 48 hours and usually within hours, but we have heard scattered reports of longer waits for PIMS confirmation. Members may wish to advise clients who will be applying for visas that they may need to wait two more days than they previously waited for visa issuance on account of PIMS confirmation, and there will be occasions when the wait due to PIMS verification will be more lengthy. AILA members should report any delays greater than 48 hours attributed to PIMS to reports@aila.org, SUBJECT: PIMS Delays. Please see InfoNet Doc. No. 07121070 for more details. Such reports will enable the committee to present any evidence of widespread problems if they exist.

AILA has requested that DOS establish a mechanism by which visa applicants can notify KCC of an upcoming visa application to make sure that the petition is in PIMS to avoid visa issuance delays. DOS will consider and explore this idea.

One very beneficial effect of PIMS is that when an original approval notice is not available, the post should not require it, because it can and must be confirmed in PIMS anyway. We have asked DOS to distribute clearer direction on this point. There are some posts who use scheduling contractors who have been instructed to require an approved petition in order to set up an interview, and those arrangements will need to be modified. If you encounter a post that refuses to schedule an interview or issue a visa without an original approval notice, please notify AILA.

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