USCIS holds outreach sessions

Members of the community came in droves to attend the immigration and naturalization outreach sessions presented by community relation officers Cheri Winslow, from Guam, and Kamana Mathur, from Hawaii, across the island yesterday.

The two employees of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services talked about the I-9 Form that employers will have to complete for every person they are going to hire, how to complete it, how to avoid discrimination during the processing of the form, what documents are essential to prove a person’s identity, and one’s ability to work legally in the United States.

Mathur also provided information on various visa types and categories, an overview of the green card process, and will discuss the naturalization process.

The presentations were intended to educate employers on the various types of immigration documents that employees are required to present, how and when to ask for those documents, how to complete the I-9, how to attain it, and how to handle the whole process without discriminating against any individual.

An I-9 Form is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. Both employees and employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) must complete the form. On the form, an employee must attest to his or her employment authorization.

One attendee, Christina Indalecio, said, “I am looking forward to the meeting. I want to learn more about the immigration processes here [United States] and maybe even be able to inform any future employers about it.”

Eight outreach sessions were held on Saipan while six were held in Guam.

Mathur said, “It’s important for an employer to properly complete the I-9 Form because it is a requirement by law that every employer complete this document for every employee, regardless of nationality.”

“They [employers] need to know how to do it, there’s a new form I wanted to highlight so that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can provide good information to various individuals on how they need to comply with immigration and anti-discrimination laws. It’s also vital for individuals to know how to get a green card and learn more about the immigration process,” Mathur said.

CW visas and H-2B visas were not discussed at yesterday’s meeting.

Yesterday’s USCIS presentations were held at the USCIS Application Support Center in Garapan, at the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library, and with the Saipan Chinese Association.