Published by: The Economic Times - Date: April 05, 2025
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
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.
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 requests, the case remained unresolved until the Ombudsman stepped in. “After the Ombudsman’s intervention, approval came within two weeks,” Khanna added.
Students also benefited when Optional Practical Training (OPT) applications were mishandled. Khanna shared a case where a student’s OPT request was wrongly denied due to misinterpreted documents. The Ombudsman helped reopen the case, safeguarding the student’s employment and immigration status.
“What made the Ombudsman uniquely valuable was its independence from USCIS – they could objectively evaluate whether the agency was following its own procedures and policies,” Khanna said.
He added that the Ombudsman’s involvement was crucial in cases where there was no clear path to resolve errors. In one such instance, a researcher’s green card application had been stuck for over three years due to a background check not being properly logged. The Ombudsman’s efforts led to a resolution.
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