May 14, 2002 - The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) confirmed that an internal audit of contractor shredding operations is underway at its California Service Center. The California Service Center serves individuals and businesses in the states of California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. The audit arises due to allegations that an outside contractor may have prematurely shredded applications (or petitions) for INS benefits prior to processing. Although the INS maintains that no definitive proof of illegal destruction has been yet discovered, Los Angeles Times sources report that INS officials recovered about 90,000 pieces of unprocessed mail apparently destined for the shredder.

Clients are assured that Berry, Appleman & Leiden (BAL) is tracking the situation at the California Service Center (CSC) and will take appropriate measures as necessary. BAL uses a proprietary database system (VisaBase™) to closely monitor milestones in all client filings at the four INS regional processing centers, including the CSC for timely receipt and approval. BAL regularly follows up with the CSC on late receipts, processing times and corrections in approval notices, and when necessary, submits file reconstructions for lost cases.

Source: Los Angeles Times (5/12/02)