MUMBAI: A new insignia (logo) rolled out by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the government agency which manages lawful immigration to the US is causing ripples among immigration experts and the Indian diaspora.
The new logo features The Statue of Liberty, with the inscription – Upholding America’s Promise. The earlier logo was the American seal depicting the bald eagle.
In February 2022, USCIS had unveiled its new mission statement terming America as a ‘Nation of welcome and possibility’ for immigrants. The new mission statement was a stark contrast to the step taken by the Trump administration, which in February 2018, had deleted the reference to America being a ‘nation of immigrants’ from its mission statement.
Two years and seven months later, the new logo which has been unveiled closely reflects the mission statement. Ur Jaddou, director, USCIS, has posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Today I am pleased to introduce our new insignia. It’s designed to link our culture, values, and long-term goals with how we define our agency, and represents the collective contributions of our agency and the embodiment of the American dream.”
“When I look at USCIS, I see the untold sacrifice and perseverance of those seeking a better future for themselves and their families. I see hope and prosperity being passed down from one generation to the next,” she has stated. She has even referred to employees of the agency, “I see hardworking, committed public servants. Together, our employees provided feedback to ensure our insignia reflect our fairness, integrity and respect for all we serve.”
The most famous quote inscribed on a bronze plaque within the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The timing of the roll out of the new insignia has taken people by surprise. With elections around the corner, understandably the Indian diaspora is anxious about the future. As are those wishing to migrate to US – be it for work or study.
Trump during his presidency has rolled out several policy measures (many of which were squashed by the courts) that posed challenges for legal immigrants. During that period, USCIS owing to a policy change had resorted to extreme vetting = each visa extension – such as for H-1B visas, was treated as a new application. This had led to an increase in requests for additional documentation (known as requests for evidence – RFEs) which increased administrative costs for sponsoring employers and led to delays. Or in other instances, there was an outright denial of visa extensions on various grounds. Subsequently, this was done away with, and USCIS resorted to its earlier practice of deferring to previous approvals when extending visas. USCIS also withdrew a rule that had proposed to give priority in the H-1B visa issuance process to those earning the highest wages in the respective occupation and geographic location category.
However, USCIS continues to face a backlash for slow processing of various applications. Charles Kuck, an immigration attorney minced no words in replying to the post on X. He said, “You spent money and time on this? Why? It’s a LOGO! Just do your job and adjudicate the applications…”
On social media, irked by the decades-long backlog for employment-linked green cards, the Indian diaspora viewed that a change in the insignia will do nothing to help them with their American dreams of becoming permanent residents.