I-130 Immigration Benefit Fraud Assessment
The discussion topics for the I-130 Immigration Benefit Fraud Assessment (IBFA) before the Technical Working Group (TWG) are: 1) the sample size, 2) the operational definitional of fraud, and 3) the cut-off date for case inclusion. OP&S is dedicated to ensuring USCIS stakeholders and senior leaderships have relevant information in order to develop realistic expectations of the study. The role of the TWG is to discuss and provide consolidated recommendations to USCIS Senior Leadership so that they can make informed decisions for the IBFA study. Each of these issues has the potential to limit the usefulness of the estimated fraud rate and should be discussed thoroughly prior to making any recommendations to Senior Leadership.
1. Sample Size …show more content…
However, IFRET’s previous research (Qualitative Research on Marriage-Based Immigration Benefit Fraud Detection) identified a number of strategies employed by ISOs to stop fraudulent cases from continuing through the adjudication process including denying petitions for other reasons (in which case, the “fraud” is not captured in USCIS data systems) and issuing a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). Each of these strategies demonstrate different thresholds for the concept of “fraud” with case denial for a reason other than fraud being the lowest threshold and the Agency definition of a fraud finding the highest threshold. IFRET has been tasked to estimate the “true” fraud rate, meaning IFRET constructed a research design that would capture these lower thresholds for fraud. In this way, IFRET believes the study will be able to calculate a confidence interval for the “true” fraud rate by capturing all instances of fraud irrespective of a formal Agency finding. IFRET agreed, however, to compromise and use the mid-level measure of fraud: the issuance of a NOID. It should be noted that this definition will generate a fraud rate that may be unrealistically low as not all fraudulent cases can be denied for fraud due to the stringent criteria set up by the immigration law and
1. Sample Size …show more content…
However, IFRET’s previous research (Qualitative Research on Marriage-Based Immigration Benefit Fraud Detection) identified a number of strategies employed by ISOs to stop fraudulent cases from continuing through the adjudication process including denying petitions for other reasons (in which case, the “fraud” is not captured in USCIS data systems) and issuing a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). Each of these strategies demonstrate different thresholds for the concept of “fraud” with case denial for a reason other than fraud being the lowest threshold and the Agency definition of a fraud finding the highest threshold. IFRET has been tasked to estimate the “true” fraud rate, meaning IFRET constructed a research design that would capture these lower thresholds for fraud. In this way, IFRET believes the study will be able to calculate a confidence interval for the “true” fraud rate by capturing all instances of fraud irrespective of a formal Agency finding. IFRET agreed, however, to compromise and use the mid-level measure of fraud: the issuance of a NOID. It should be noted that this definition will generate a fraud rate that may be unrealistically low as not all fraudulent cases can be denied for fraud due to the stringent criteria set up by the immigration law and