US to revamp immigration services: Obama

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jun 26 (PTI) US President Barack Obama
on Friday vowed to revamp and ensure more transparency in the
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
within 90 days, using cutting-edge technologies, which will
help Indian-Americans applying for Green Card.

Obama told a select bi-partisan group of Congressmen
that the new system would be in place in the next 90 days, in
which the USCIS will launch a vastly improved website. He said
it will not only reduce the paperwork, but also the backlog
and bring in more transparency into the system.

The changes would help thousands of Indian Americans
who apply for permanent residency or Green Card, citizenship
or approach USCIS for various immigration issues, but have to
experience an agonising wait.

Obama said the new website, will for the first time,
allow applicants to get updates on their status of their
applications via e-mail and text message and online.

"Anybody who's dealt with families who are trying to
deal with -- navigate the immigration system, this is going to
save them huge amounts of time standing in line, waiting
around, making phone calls, being put on hold," Obama
said in his remarks before a group of Congressmen whom he had
invited to discuss immigration system.

It is an example of some things that we can do
administratively even as we are working through difficult
issues surrounding comprehensive immigration, he said. PTI