US shuts immigration help desk in big setback for H-1B, green card hopefuls

The Trump administration has shut down the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman, a department that helped thousands of immigrants resolve delays and disputes with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Immigration lawyers say the closure will affect H-1B visa holders, international students on F-1 visas, and green card applicants—many of them from the Indian diaspora.