Humanitarian revalidation approved at CSC

I have long been a critic of the California Service Center (CSC) concerning the way they adjudicate humanitarian revalidation/reinstatement (HR) requests. It seemed that almost all HR requests were being denied at the CSC. No discretion was exercised, and they relied on factors that were literally impossible for anyone to meet if living abroad. In fact, in response to a request I served under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), CSC revealed its approval rate for HR requests was under 7 percent. That meant they were denying over 93 percent of HR requests.

I have written articles, posted videos on my YouTube channel and raised this issue with the CIS Ombudsman, who published this disturbing situation in its annual report to Congress.

In June 2022, at the annual conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), I had the opportunity to speak with Ur Jaddou, the director of USCIS, about the systemic problem at the CSC of denying virtually all humanitarian reinstatement requests. She stated that she was unaware of this issue and asked that I email her with further information and details, which I did.

I pointed out the CSC’s less than 7 percent approval rate for HR requests, and literally all other immigration attorneys I spoke with agreed that the CSC denies virtually all HR requests and relies on factors that are impossible to meet if the beneficiary is living abroad.

I am pleased (and shocked) to report that my office recently received several reaffirmations or approvals of our HR requests from CSC, some of which had been pending since 2018. This is indeed welcome news. Thank you, CSC!

Who knows, maybe Dir. Jaddou’s staff inquired at the CSC about my complaints or concerns about CSC’s horrendous denial rate.  Maybe the old adjudicators in the HR department have retired or have been reassigned and new officers, with more compassion, now exercise discretion, rather than looking for ways to deny the HR requests.

I want to be clear: I am not “guaranteeing” the CSC, or any other service center, will now approve all HR requests, nor am I claiming credit for the CSC’s more compassionate approach to HR adjudication. I am just happy that there now appears to be a change and that CSC is starting to approve HR requests, and I am glad that I persisted in fighting on behalf of those applicants whose petitioner died and they were required to file HR requests.

I feel that my role as an attorney is to not only fight for and defend my clients, but to also fight on behalf of other applicants in the immigrant community who may have suffered the same injustices.

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