U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services Field Offices Form: Fill & Download for Free

The primary difference is in scope.ICE was created in 2003, as part of the massive reorganization of federal immigration functions under the Home Security Act of 2002. Immigration had previously been under the oversight of the INS(Immigration and Naturalization Service), an agency of the Department of Labor.As detailed here,“ The last legislative reorganization of federal immigration functions occurred in 2003 as part of the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which was a direct policy reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This Act abolished the INS and assigned its immigration functions to two bureaus with the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Bureau of Border Security. It is worth noting that annual funding for the INS was the largest single agency budget prior to September 11 that went into the new DHS.13 After weighing the request of the administration of President George W. Bush to move visa processing to DHS, Congress decided once again not to move the visa issuance function out of the Department of State. As DHS stood up, the Bush administration merged the Bureau of Border Security with the US Customs Service and established a border agency known as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and an interior enforcement agency known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services was renamed US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These three agencies are responsible for most of the functions that the former INS handled (Wasem 2006).”The reason I mention this is that ICE must be understood in tandem with the other agencies created under this act. The Customs and Border Patrol Agency was created to enforce U.S law at the borders, facilitating trade , collecting import taxes(the agency collects over 44 billion in revenue per year for the federal government as of 2016), and enforcing U.S immigration law. The Border Patrol serves as it’s enforcement arm, employing thousands of agents to guard the U.S borders(with the vast majority being located on the southwest).ICE is the other side of this coin. The border patrol works to enforce immigration law at the borders, ICE works to enforce immigration law within it.“ICE is the lead agency for immigration interior enforcement activity, which includes investigating foreign nationals who violate the INA and other related laws. The main categories of crimes they investigate are: suspected terrorism; criminal acts; suspected fraudulent activities (i.e., possessing or manufacturing fraudulent immigration documents); and suspected smuggling and trafficking of foreign nationals. ICE investigators are considered law enforcement agents………ICE is responsible for overseeing the custody of foreign nationals who are detained by DHS and facilitating their release or deportation. The INA requires DHS to detain several classes of foreign nationals, including those who are inadmissible or deportable on criminal, terrorist, or national security grounds; those who arrived in the United States without proper documents and requested asylum (pending a preliminary determination of their asylum claims); and those who have final orders of deportation. ”ICE is(unlike the average police officer) specifically concerned with the enforcement of immigration law and crimes related to those who violate it. They operate under a different set of regulations and priorities than the average police officer. (For a full list of ICE’s investigative priorities, click here )This means that they serve a different function than the average police man, a distinction that has caused conflict in the past when police forces(depending on their locality) chose not to initiate police action due to immigration status."In Los Angeles, the term 'police' is synonymous with the Los Angeles Police Department, so for ICE agents to represent themselves as police misleads the public into believing they are interacting with LAPD. This is especially corrosive given that to advance public safety, the LAPD does not initiate police action with the objective of determining a person's immigration status."-Letter to ICE deputy field office director from Herb Wesson, president of the LA city council.This incident describes just one of the many conflicts different police forces throughout the United States have had with ICE(exasperated in recent months by the President’s family separation policy) . However it’s important to mention that many of ICE’s activities (immigration raids being a prime example) rely upon data gathered by local law enforcement agencies, with ICE forming agreements with numerous regional law enforcement groups to access this data.“Currently ICE has access to local law enforcement databases, organized by states, such as Arizona and Texas, and metropolitan regions, such as the greater Seattle, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. areas. In Arizona, AZLink, the database that experienced the most DHS searches during this period, pools together information from numerous law enforcement agencies across the state.”Below is a visualization of this sharing network(my apologies, you’ll have to squint a bit to see the key).It should be mentioned here that in addition to the previously mentioned conflicts with local police agencies, ICE has also drawn criticism at times due to it’s perceived lack of checks and balances(along with the DHS as a whole), and poor oversight of detention centers, among other issues.In short, ICE has a different function than that of most police departments, as it is explicitly concerned with a certain type of crime. This has led to a complementary yet sometimes disharmonious relationship with local police forces, with ICE often coordinating efforts in conjunction with these forces or using data gathered by them, yet taking actions that police often find disruptive to their own efforts(and police and/or city administrators consequently hesitating in cooperating with ICE).http://jmhs.cmsny.org/index.php/jmhs/article/download/114/105https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2017-Mar/FY-2016-CBP-PAR-508C.pdfLos Angeles Officials To ICE: Stop Identifying Yourselves As PoliceWhere ICE Already Has Direct Lines To Law-Enforcement Databases With Immigrant DataThe Department of Homeland Security: the largest police force nobody monitors | Marisa Franco & Paromita Shahhttps://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy-pia-ice-pic-october2011.pdf'Even the cops don’t like us anymore': Under Trump, ICE is despised and divided

Step 1: File a petition with the USCIS on behalf of your FiancéYou, the US citizen, must file the Petition for Alien fiancé (Form I-129F) with your local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. Click here to see the additional documents you need to file the petition.Note: You cannot file this petition at an embassy, consulate or U.S. immigration office abroad.Tips: Instead of waiting in long lines at the USCIS field office make an appointment online at USCIS Website.Step 2: The Fiancé's obtains a visa at a US consulate at his/her home countryAfter the USCIS approves the petition, it sends the petition to the embassy or consulate where your fiancé will apply for a K-1 non-immigrant visa. Once approved he/she will get a visa stamped on their passport and will be ready to come to the United States. Click hereto see the required documents your fiancé will need while applying for the visa at a US consulate in his/her home country.Download the Checklist for Form I-129F (Alien Fiancé/K-1): Download I-129F Checklist

Hope this helps -Step 1: File a petition with the USCIS on behalf of your FiancéYou, the US citizen, must file the Petition for Alien fiancé (Form I-129F) with your local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. Click here to see the additional documents you need to file the petition.Note: You cannot file this petition at an embassy, consulate or U.S. immigration office abroad.Tips: Instead of waiting in long lines at the USCIS field office make an appointment online at USCIS Website.Step 2: The Fiancé's obtains a visa at a US consulate at his/her home countryAfter the USCIS approves the petition, it sends the petition to the embassy or consulate where your fiancé will apply for a K-1 non-immigrant visa. Once approved he/she will get a visa stamped on their passport and will be ready to come to the United States. Click here to see the required documents your fiancé will need while applying for the visa at a US consulate in his/her home country.Download the Checklist for Form I-129F (Alien Fiancé/K-1): Download I-129F ChecklistWhat Happens and What to Do After Getting the Fiancé Visa?Once you've received the K-1 Visa successfully you are ready to enter the United States. Following are some important information and steps for you and your fiancé to follow through on after entering the United States.Step 3: Entering into the United StatesAfter getting the fiancé visa, your fiancé enters the United States through a U.S. immigration port-of-entry. The U.S. immigration official gives your fiancé instructions on what to do at the the port of entry.Step 4: Get Social Security NumberYour fiancé can apply for a social security number card. There are many advantages of having a social security number card the sooner the better.A permanent resident of the United States needs a Social Security number to:Work in the United StatesConduct business with a bank or financial institutionPay taxes or to be claimed on a tax returnAnd for other purposes not listed.Refer to the Social Security Website for further instructionsStep 5: Get MarriedAs per the Condition of the K-1 Visa you and your fiancé must get married within 90 days of his/her arrival.Step 6: Apply for Permanent Residency (Green Card) by Filing Adjustment of Status (AOS/I-485)If your spouse plans to work and stay in the US, after marriage, he/she must file Form I-485 Application to register as permanent residence or to adjust status with the USCIS office that serves the area where you live in the United States. You must fill out the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, with the USCIS for your spouse's application to become a lawful permanent resident (LPR).File the following 2 forms at nearest USCIS Field Office:Download Form I-485 - Application To Register Permanent Residence or Adjust StatusDownload Form I-864 - Affidavit of SupportStep 7: Remove Conditions on Permanent Status for Your New SpouseThe permanent residence you have received through this marriage is conditional, which means your new spouse's green card will expire in 2 years. You'll have to file the I-751 petition in order to remove this conditional status.Find Out More On Petition to Remove the Conditions on ResidenceDownload I-751 Form - Petition to Remove the Conditions on ResidenceRequired Documents of the Sponsor for K-1 PetitionDocuments Required of the United States citizen who is petitioning his/her fiance to come and live in the U.S. The following needs to be provided at the USCIS field office when filing for petition.Form I-129F Petition for Alien FianceIf your fiance has unmarried children who are under 21, they are eligible to accompany your fiance, but only if they are listed on this form.Evidence of Your U.S. CitizenshipYour original U.S. birth certificate, your U.S. passport, your Certificate of Naturalization, or your Certificate of Citizenship. (Please see USCIS Form I-129F for information on the use of copies.)2 G-325A Forms Biographic Data SheetsCompleted and signed G-325A Forms, one with your information and one with your fiance's.Color Photos of You and Your FianceOne color photo of you and one of your fiance taken within 30 days of filing>>Find out more about photograph specificationsPrior Marriage Nullification DocumentsA copy of any divorce decrees, death certificates, or annulment decrees if either you or your fiance have been previously married.Permission to MarryProof of permission to marry if you or your fiance are subject to any age restrictions. (For instance, in some U.S. states, you must receive special permission to marry if you are under the age of 16.)Required Documents For K-1 Visa ApplicationThe following documents should be provided by your fiancé to the US consulate in his/her home country while applying for the K-1 Visa.A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States.Valid Birth certificateIf applicable, divorce or death certificate of any previous spouse for both the applicant and the petitionerPolice certificate from all places lived since age 16Medical examination (vaccinations are optional, see below)Evidence of financial support - Form I-134 Affidavit of Support may be requested. (Should be sent by American sponsor.)Two Non-immigrant Visa Applications, Form DS-156 (A Form DS-156, prepared in duplicate.)One Non-immigrant FiancéVisa Application, Form DS-156KTwo nonimmigrant visa photos(each two inches 50 X 50 mm square, showing full face, against a light background)Evidence of a fiance relationship - i.e. photos of engagement.Payment of feesThe consular section at the embassy or consulate where you, the fiancé of an American citizen, will apply for a visa, will tell you about any additional specific requirements that you need to fulfill to complete your visa application, such as where you need to go for the required medical examination.Note: The consular officer may ask for additional information according to the circumstances of the case. Documents in foreign languages should be translated.Tips: Take clear, legible photocopies of civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, to the interview. Original documents can then be returned to you.Where Should I File the Petition?If you are filing for your fiancé, file this petition at the Service Center with jurisdiction over your area of residence.If you are filing for your fiancé and live outside the United States, submit this petition to the Service Center with jurisdiction over your last place of residence in the U.S.If you are a U.S. citizen, and are using this form to bring in your wife or unmarried child under the LIFE Act, file this petition at:U.S. Citizenship and Immigration ServicesP.O. Box 7218Chicago, IL 60680-7218Find out more about the LIFE Act >> Find a USCIS Office next to youVaccination RequirementsAll applicants for immigrant visas are required to have the following vaccinations (if appropriate for age, medical condition, or medical history):MumpsMeaslesRubellaPolioTetanus and diptheria toxoidsPertussisInfluenza type BHepatitis BVaricellaPneumococcalNote: As a fiancé you are not required to fulfill this requirement at the time of your medical examination for a fiance visa. However, you may want to do so. These vaccinations are required when you adjust status to permanent residence following your marriage.Extending the PetitionThe Form I-129F petition is valid for four months from the date of approval from USCIS. Consular officers can extend the validity of the petition (revalidate the petition) if it expires before the processing of the visa application is completed.What if my visa is denied? How can I appeal?If your petition for a fiancé visa is denied, the denial letter will tell you how to appeal. Generally, you may appeal within 33 days of receiving the denial by mail. Your appeal must be filed on USCIS Form I-290B. The appeal must be filed with the office that made the original decision. After your appeal form and a required fee are processed, the appeal will be referred to the Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU) in Washington, DC. (Sending the appeal and fee directly to the AAU will delay the process.)Fees - How much will it cost?Fees are charged for the following services:Filing an Alien Fiance Petition, Form I-129F - $535USDFiling I-130 - $535USDMedical examination (costs vary from post to post)Fingerprinting fees (if required)Other costs may include translation and photocopying charges, fees for getting the documents required for the visa application (such as passport, police certificates, birth certificates, etc.).Filing Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status$1,140 plus $85 biometric fee for a total of $1,225 if you are 14 years of age or older. If you are under 14 years of age, and are filing with the I-485 application of at least one parent have a fee total of $750; if not filing with the I-485 application of at least one parent have a fee total of $1,140. If you are 79 years of age or older, the fee is $1,140 with no biometrics services fee.If applicable, $595USD plus $85 for Biometrics for Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence