A Message from USCIS Director Alejandro N. Mayorkas

May 7, 2012

 

Dear Stakeholders,

 

We in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are proud of the services we provide our customers. In an average month, our agency handles one million customer calls, more than seven million visitors to our website, 250,000 in-person visits to our local offices, and more than 500,000 applications and petitions filed for immigration benefits.

 

We recognize the tremendous diversity of the public we serve. Those who seek our services speak many different languages, have widely varying knowledge of our nation’s immigration laws and procedures, and approach us with different needs and pressures. We are committed to serving them all, equally.

 

As an agency, we are eager to learn of and adopt the most cutting-edge customer service delivery models and practices. We are interested in redesigning our future customer service architecture so that we are at the forefront of innovation in this arena and become an agency that public and private organizations seek to emulate.

 

I am excited to announce that, in response to a public solicitation, we have retained the firm IDEO to guide us as we review our customers’ needs and our practices and together we design our future state. Our plan is to design a new architecture this year, make improvements as we proceed, and implement the new state next year. We will be reaching out to you in the coming weeks to better learn of your experiences, needs, and ideas.

 

In addition, effective today, we are realigning our organizational structure to roll our Office of Public Engagement into a newly-named operational directorate, the Customer Service and Public Engagement (CSPE) Directorate. This merger integrates equities critical to building a new customer service architecture, increasing access to agency information and services, promoting transparency and ensuring that the customer and stakeholder loop is seamless. Mariela Melero, our current Chief of the Office of Public Engagement, will be the new Associate Director leading CSPE.

 

We envision and are planning for a great future in our delivery of immigration services.

 

Thank you,

 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas

Director