US disbands immigration helpdesk that aided H-1B and green card applicants

H-1B visa holders, international students on F-1 visas, and green card applicants — with many from the Indian diaspora.

The Ombudsman’s office handled nearly 30,000 requests last year, offering help with delays, errors, and application disputes, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Immigration attorneys say the closure will reduce transparency and accountability within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

“Individuals or businesses sought assistance from the CIS Ombudsman for a variety of issues, ranging from erroneous rejections of filings and denials to typographical errors on secure documents (such as Green Cards and Employment Authorization Documents) and even mailing issues. Last year, the Ombudsman’s office assisted approximately 30,000 applicants,” Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director for government relations at AILA, told TOI's Lubna Kably.

Rajiv S Khanna, an immigration attorney based in Arlington, explained that visa holders often turned to the Ombudsman when their legal status was at risk due to administrative delays. “F-1 and H-1B visa holders turned to the CIS Ombudsman when they hit bureaucratic roadblocks within US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that threatened their legal status and livelihoods,” he said.

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He cited a case involving a Bangalore-based engineer whose H-1B extension was pending for 11 months. Despite following all procedures and raising multiple service