NAFSA: Association of International Educators Region IV Website

Craig Peterson - Regulatory Ombudsman (scholars) - assists with issues involving J-1 scholars, H-1B and PR employment-based immigration. peterson.craig@dorsey.com

Roles of the Ombudsman:

The role of the NAFSA Region IV Ombudsman is to:

Help Region IV foreign student/scholar advisors who have a problem with an application that has been filed at the Nebraska Service Center (NSC).
Plan and coordinate the Regional Conference government sessions.
Serve as the Region IV liaison with other offices of DHS, DOS, and other federal government divisions.

How to contact the Ombudsman:

Government liaison assistance from an Ombudsman can be requested by submitting a case query to http://www.nafsa.org/IssueNet. NAFSA members must use their NAFSA login and password to access the site. Non-NAFSA members will also be able to utilize this service but must first create a login ID, as per instructions on the site. During initial use the requestor will be required to enter identifying information about his/herself, but this will not be required for subsequent uses. Since Ombudsmen can receive anywhere between 5-15 email queries each week, please be sure to first take advantage of the immigration resources that are readily available through the NAFSA website, the NAFSA Adviser's Manual, or by checking the USCIS Online Case Status website at https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp . General current processing times for applications submitted to the Nebraska Service Center can be checked online at https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/Processtimes.jsp?SeviceCenter=Nebraska (please note these dates are only a rule of thumb and are not hard and fast).

For cases involving F-1/J-1 STUDENTS ONLY:

Once a request for assistance has been submitted to IssueNet, the Ombudsman for Students will forward your query to the NSC representative for an application status review and request appropriate action. If a request has been made for liaising with another government agency, the Ombudsman will attempt to contact a representative from that agency. Please note in some cases we just do not have contacts in all offices, but we'll do our best.

The queries are usually submitted every 7-10 days and responses from the NSC may vary between 3-7 days. The results from the NSC query will be forwarded to you as soon as possible.

Applications submitted to NSC may be reviewed by different “product line” USCIS representatives and therefore, responses or instructions for resolution may come at different intervals.

General Information Regarding NSC applications:

Many problems with the NSC can be avoided by encouraging applicants/petitioners to update address changes promptly (the Ombudsman for Students STRONGLY encourages DSO's to require students use the international program office's address on the I-765 or I-539 applications!), keep copies of all documentation submitted, and obtain copies of cancelled checks to determine the receipt number (LIN#).

Most I-765 problems involve:

Incorrect spelling of the name,
Incorrect citation on the EAD,
Incorrect fee – application returned unprocessed
Lost EADs in the mail,
Incorrect mailing addresses,
No notice of action received due to incorrect mailing address,
Incorrect period of authorization on the EAD, and
EAD not issued within the 90-day processing period.

Issues involving I-539 cases include:

Delayed action on the petition,
Request for evidence (RFE) asking for information that had already been submitted,
Student's Form I-20 not returned with approval notice, etc.

Future Region IV Conferences

2007 Hyatt Crowne Center, Kansas City, Missouri

2008 Fargo, ND

2009 Iowa

NAFSA Region IV