Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate (RAIO)

Asylum Office Customer Satisfaction Survey 

Final Report 

July 2012
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Asylum Office Customer Satisfaction Survey

 

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

Introduction and Methodology 4

Table A: Responses by Office 4

Overall Findings 5

Table 1: Satisfaction by Office 5

Recommendations 6

Detailed Report 7

Customer Satisfaction Index 8

Table 2: Aggregate Customer Satisfaction Index 8

Table 3: Customer Satisfaction Index by Office 8

Table 4: Customer Satisfaction Benchmarks 9

Customer Satisfaction Model 10

Table 5: 2012 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service – Asylum Offices Model 10

Drivers of Satisfaction 11

Table 6: Aggregate Asylum Officer 11

Table 7: Asylum Officer by Office 12

Table 8: Officer was Argumentative or Biased by Office 12

Table 9: Aggregate Wait Times and Front Desk 13

Table 10: Wait Times and Front Desk by Office 13

Table 11: Visited Website by Office 14

Table 12: Aggregate Website 14

Appendices

Appendix A: Non-Modeled Responses 16

Table 13: Aggregate Responses to Non-Modeled Questions 17

Table 14: Responses to Non-Modeled Questions by Office 18

Appendix B: Results Tables 19

Table 15: Aggregate Scores and Impacts 20

Table 16: Scores by Location 21

Table 17: Scores by Officer was Argumentative or Biased 22

Appendix C: Verbatim Comments 23

Appendix D: Survey Questionnaire 30
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 3 CFI Group

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 4 CFI Group

Introduction and Methodology

This study was conducted using the methodology of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The 

ACSI is the national indicator of customer evaluations of the quality of goods and services available in the 

U.S. It is the only uniform, cross-industry/government measure of customer satisfaction. Since 1994, the 

ACSI has measured satisfaction, its causes, and its effects, for seven economic sectors, 41 industries, more 

than 200 private-sector companies, two types of local government services, the U.S. Postal Service, and the 

Internal Revenue Service.

The ACSI is widely used to measure customer satisfaction among government programs. This methodology 

has measured hundreds of programs of federal government agencies since 1999. This allows benchmarking 

between the public and private sectors and provides information unique to each agency on how its activities 

that interface with the public affect the satisfaction of customers. The effects of satisfaction are estimated, in 

turn, on specific objectives (such as public trust).

This report was produced by CFI Group. If you have any questions regarding this report, please contact CFI 

Group at 734-930-9090.

Segment Choice 

This study is about individuals who received services from a USCIS Asylum Office and were interviewed by 

an USCIS asylum officer as part of the process.

Customer Samples and Data Collection

A total of eight office locations participated in the survey and they include: Arlington Asylum Office 

(ZAR),Chicago Asylum Office (ZCH), Houston Asylum Office (ZHN), Los Angeles Asylum Office (ZLA), 

Miami Asylum Office (ZMI), New York Asylum Office (ZNY), Newark Asylum Office (ZNK) and San Francisco 

Asylum Office (ZSF).

Paper surveys were administered to customers at each Asylum Office. Each office had a quota of 100 

completed surveys although many offices exceeded that quota. In those instances, rather than restricting the 

analysis to 100 responses per office, data from all questionnaires were used. A total of 933 responses were 

collected from September 2011 through March 2012. In order to avoid any potential bias related to the 

outcome of an individual asylum case, surveys were collected after the interview but before the final decision 

was served to the applicant. Due to the use of convenience sampling, the results may not be representative 

of the overall population of asylum applicants.

Questionnaire and Reporting

The questionnaire used is shown in Appendix D. It was designed to be agency-specific in terms of activities, 

outcomes, and introductions to the survey and specific question areas. However, it follows a format common 

to all the federal agency questionnaires that allow cause-and-effect modeling using the ACSI model. CFI 

Group collaborated with USCIS to develop the questionnaire.

Responses by office

Arlington Asylum Office (ZAR) 11% 101

Chicago Asylum Office (ZCH) 12% 115

Houston Asylum Office (ZHN) 12% 116

Los Angeles Asylum Office (ZLA) 12% 110

Miami Asylum Office (ZMI) 12% 109

Newark Asylum Office (ZNK) 10% 95

New York Asylum Office (ZNY) 13% 118

San Francisco Asylum Office (ZSF) 18% 169

Number of Respondents 933

Table A: Responses by Office
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 5 CFI Group

Most of the questions in the survey asked the respondent to rate items on a 1 to 10 scale, where “1” is “poor” 

and “10” is “excellent.” Scores are converted to a 0 to 100 scale for reporting purposes. Appendix A contains 

tables of responses to non-modeled questions. These are categorical and “Yes/No” type questions where a 

response is not on a 1 to 10 scale. Appendix B contains score tables for questions that were rated on a 1 to 

10 scale at an aggregate level and segmented by groups. Appendix C contains verbatim comments to the 

responses for open-ended questions. 

Where reported, sample sizes are shown under graphics with the label “N”.

Overall Findings

Customers are highly satisfied with the services they receive from USCIS’s Asylum Offices; their overall

satisfaction index is 87 on a scale of 0 to 100. For comparison, the federal government satisfaction index is 

currently 67. At the office-level, customers who were serviced by the Miami Asylum Office, Chicago Asylum 

Office and the Houston Asylum Office were the most satisfied with indices of 93 or 94. Conversely, 

satisfaction was the lowest for those serviced by the New York Asylum Office with a satisfaction index of 70.

The Asylum Officer is the primary driver of satisfaction for customers. Officers do well in providing needed 

information to customers. They are highly knowledgeable and polite. Across seven of eight offices, Asylum 

Officers score in the high 80s or 90s; these scores indicate a high level of performance. The New York Office 

is the one exception with scores considerably lower for Asylum Officer performance. However, the issue at 

New York is not so much the politeness of the Officer as it is knowledge and providing needed information to 

customers. Additionally, while 17% of all respondents felt that the Officer was either argumentative or biased, 

at New York 29% of respondents felt they were. So in addition to being more likely to not receive the 

information they sought, New York customers are more likely to feel the Officer is biased or argumentative

compared to customers at other offices.

The Front Desk and Wait Times have a moderate impact on satisfaction. Front Desk staff are very polite with 

a rating of 94 on a 100-point scale. With respect to wait time, the time between the filing date and the 

interview is rated as being satisfactory with a score of 87. The wait time for the start of the interview once at 

the office scores a bit lower at 82. However, none of these scores would indicate that there is much of an

issue with the Front Desk service or with Wait Times. Scores were relatively high across most locations for 

94

94

93

89

88

87

85

85

70

Chicago Asylum Office (ZCH)

Miami Asylum Office (ZMI)

Houston Asylum Office (ZHN)

San Francisco Asylum Office (ZSF)

Arlington Asylum Office (ZAR)

Aggregate

Los Angeles Asylum Office (ZLA)

Newark Asylum Office (ZNK)

New York Asylum Office (ZNY)

Table 1: Satisfaction by Office
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 6 CFI Group

Front Desk. In particular, the Chicago Asylum Office, the Houston Asylum Office, and the Miami Asylum 

Office were the offices that performed best with Wait Times and Front Desk as all these three locations were 

rated in the 93 to 95 range.

Recommendations

With overall satisfaction at 87, it may be difficult for USCIS to significantly improve its asylum office customer 

satisfaction scores at an aggregate level. However, at certain locations there appears to be opportunity for 

improvement. 

• The Asylum Officer is the key driver of customer satisfaction. At most locations it will be difficult to 

improve upon their performance. At New York, providing needed information and Officer knowledge 

are areas to target for improvement. Although Asylum Officers are performing at a high level at the 

Los Angeles Asylum Office, there may be an opportunity to improve upon the information being 

provided at this location. Additionally, reducing the feelings that the Officer is biased or 

argumentative will improve satisfaction. Customers who did not feel that the Officer was biased or 

argumentative had a satisfaction score of 90. However, if customers felt the Officer was 

argumentative or biased, satisfaction falls to 72. The New York Asylum Office and the Los Angeles 

Asylum Office had the highest percentages of customers feeling the officer was biased or 

argumentative. At New York, 29% of respondents found the officer to be argumentative and at Los 

Angeles 23% did.

• Wait Time and Front Desk do not appear to be problematic areas for many offices. However, as a 

secondary priority some locations, Los Angeles in particular as well as Newark, New York and San 

Francisco should address wait time for the start of the interview. Given there may be staffing 

constraints at offices, managing expectations about waiting times may be as important as efforts to

actually reduce the waiting time for customers.

• The Asylum portion of the USCIS Website, which is the part the respondents evaluated, has a 

modest impact on satisfaction and appears to be meeting information needs well. Given its modest 

impact on satisfaction and high ratings, there appears to be no need to address the website at this 

time.

• Each office can review their scores in Appendix B (Table 16: Scores by Location) to see their relative 

strengths and opportunities for improvement.
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 7 CFI Group

DETAILED REPORT
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 8 CFI Group

Customer Satisfaction Index

The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) is a weighted average of three questions: overall satisfaction, 

satisfaction compared to expectations and satisfaction compared to the ideal. The questions are answered 

on 1 to 10 scale and converted to a 0 to 100 scale for reporting purposes. The model assigns the weights to 

each question in a way that maximizes the ability of the index to predict changes in agency satisfaction.

The 2012 Customer Satisfaction Index with USCIS Asylum Offices is 87 on a scale of 0 to 100. This is

20 points higher than the current Federal Government average (67) and indicates a high level of satisfaction 

with the services provided by USCIS Asylum Offices.

Satisfaction was highest with customers who visited the Miami Office or the Chicago Office, as each had 

Customer Satisfaction Indices of 94. Houston customers were nearly as satisfied with a score of 93. 

Customers of New York had the lowest satisfaction at 70.

87

89

85

88

Customer Satisfaction Index

Overall satisfaction

Satisfaction compared to expectations

Satisfaction compared to ideal

Arlington 

(ZAR)

Chicago 

(ZCH)

Houston 

(ZHN)

Los 

Angeles 

(ZLA)

Miami 

(ZMI)

Newark 

(ZNK)

New 

York 

(ZNY)

San 

Francisco 

(ZSF)

Aggregate

Sample Size 101 115 116 110 109 95 118 169 933

Customer Satisfaction Index 88 94 93 85 94 85 70 89 87

Overall satisfaction 87 94 94 88 95 87 72 91 89

Satisfaction compared to expectations 89 93 91 81 91 83 66 88 85

Satisfaction compared to ideal 88 94 93 85 94 84 72 89 88

Table 3: Customer Satisfaction Index by Office

N=924

Table 2: Aggregate Customer Satisfaction Index
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 9 CFI Group

Benchmarks show that satisfaction with USCIS Asylum Offices outscores peer agencies such as Consular 

Affairs. Historically satisfaction with USCIS programs has been high with scores for E-Verify users, N-400 

applicants and I-485 applicants in the 80s. However, with a score of 87, the Asylum Offices have higher 

satisfaction than all other reported USCIS benchmarks. Other benchmarks include federal government 

departments and the overall federal government score (67). Please note that the Department of Homeland 

Security score mostly represents individuals evaluating their experience with airport security.

87

84

83

83

82

82

76

74

72

72

71

70

69

67

67

67

59

USCIS, DHS 2012 Asylum Offices

USCIS, DHS 2009 (N-400 applicants)

USCIS, DHS 2009 (Employers currently using E-verify) 

Consular Affairs, State (Recent passport applicants/renewals)

USCIS, DHS 2010 (Employers currently using E-verify)

USCIS, DHS 2009 (I-485 applicants)

Department of Defense

Department of Interior

State Department

Department of Agriculture

Commerce Department

Veterans Affairs

Social Security Administration

Federal Government Overall

Department Health and Human Services

Department of Transportation

Department of Homeland Security

Table 4: Customer Satisfaction Benchmarks
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 10 CFI Group

USCIS Asylum Office Customer Satisfaction Model

The Customer Satisfaction Model for satisfaction with USCIS Asylum Offices is comprised of drivers of 

satisfaction, which are shown on the left-hand side of the model picture below and the customer satisfaction 

index (shown on the right).

Table 5: 2012 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service – Asylum Offices Model

USCIS RAIO can use the scores (in circles) and impacts (in rectangles) from the model shown above to 

target areas for improvement that will have the greatest leverage on Customer Satisfaction. 

Attribute scores are the mean (average) respondent scores to each individual question asked in the survey, 

such as question 6 (“How polite was the asylum officer?”). Respondents are asked to rate each item on a 1-

10 scale with “1” being “poor” and “10” being “excellent.” CFI Group converts the mean responses to these 

items to a 0-100 scale for reporting purposes. It is important to note that these scores are averages, not 

percentages. The score is best thought of as an index, with 0 meaning “poor” and 100 meaning “excellent.” 

A component score is the weighted average of the individual attributes comprising the component. A score is 

a relative measure of performance for a component, as given for a particular set of respondents. In the 

model illustrated above, scores for attributes “Politeness of officer,” “Officer provided information needed” 

and “Knowledge of officer” are combined to create the component score for Asylum Officer.

Impacts should be read as the effect of the subsequent component if the initial component (driver) were to 

be improved or decreased by five points. Impacts are derived by a statistical regression model from 

customer responses. Impacts are not something survey respondents provide directly. They are an output of 

the CFI Group satisfaction modeling analysis.

For example, if the score for Asylum Officer increased by 5 points (89 to 94), Customer Satisfaction would 

increase by the amount of its impact, 3.3 points, (from 87 to 90.3). If the driver increases by less than or 

Asylum 

Officer

Wait Times/

Front Desk

Website

89

3.3

88

85

1.1

0.6

Customer 

Satisfaction 

Index

87

Time between filing date and 

interview date 

Politeness

Wait time

Usefulness of information

Politeness

Provided needed info

Knowledge

Overall Satisfaction

Compared to Expectations

Compared to Ideal

92

88

87

87

94

82

85

89

85

88

The 90% confidence interval around the USCIS RAIO customer satisfaction index is +/- 1.0 point. The confidence interval 

(often referred to colloquially as the “margin of error”) provides information about how precisely the CSI score in our survey 

sample reflects the “true” CSI score for the total population of your customers. A confidence interval of +/- 1.0 points is quite 

precise in the context of ACSI surveys at the sample size of 933, and essentially means that there is a 90% probability that 

the CSI is between 86 and 88.

N=933
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 11 CFI Group

more than five points, the resulting change in the subsequent component would be the corresponding 

fraction of the original impact. Impacts are also additive. Thus, if multiple areas were to each improve by 5 

points the related improvement in satisfaction will be the sum of the impacts. As with scores, impacts are 

also relative to one another. A low impact does not mean a component is unimportant. Rather, it means 

that a five-point change in that one component is unlikely to result in much improvement in Satisfaction at 

this time. Therefore, components with higher impacts are generally recommended for improvement first, 

especially if scores are lower for those components.

Drivers of Satisfaction

Three areas were identified as drivers of satisfaction, the USCIS Website, the Front Desk and Asylum Officer 

that handled the case. The following section provides the scores for the overall driver area and the scores for 

each individual attribute (or question) that comprise the driver. Scores are provided as averages on a scale 

from “0” to “100”, where “0” is “poor” and “100” is “excellent.”

Asylum Officer

Impact 3.3

Overall, respondents viewed Asylum Officers as very polite, highly knowledgeable, and providing needed 

information to the respondents. Ratings in the high 80s and low 90s indicate high levels of performance in all 

of these areas.

89

92

88

87

Asylum Officer

Politeness of officer

Officer provided information needed

Knowledge of officer

N=925 

Table 6: Aggregate Asylum Officer
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 12 CFI Group

For the most part, office-level scores were in the high 80s and 90s. The one exception is New York with a 

score of 73. Knowledge and getting the needed information were more problematic at this location than the 

politeness of the officer.

Respondents were also asked if they felt the asylum officers approach was argumentative or biased. 

Overall, 17% of respondents answered “yes” to this question (Table 7). Most offices were within a few 

percentage points of this average with a few exceptions. On the low end, only 10% of respondents at San 

Francisco felt the officer was argumentative or biased. Conversely, at New York 29% of respondents felt that 

the officer was argumentative or biased and at Los Angeles it was 23%. Those who felt the officer was 

argumentative or biased had an average satisfaction index of 72—18-points lower than the average for 

customers who did not consider the officer to be argumentative (90). Please refer to Appendix C for the table 

“Scores by Officer was Argumentative or Biased.”

Arlington 

(ZAR)

Chicago 

(ZCH)

Houston 

(ZHN)

Los 

Angeles 

(ZLA)

Miami 

(ZMI)

Newark 

(ZNK)

New 

York 

(ZNY)

San 

Francisco 

(ZSF)

Aggregate

Asylum Officer 90 94 94 87 94 89 73 90 89

Politeness of officer 91 96 96 91 95 92 81 92 92

Officer provided information needed 89 94 93 82 96 88 69 91 88

Knowledge of officer 89 92 91 86 93 86 69 87 87

Arlington 

(ZAR)

Chicago 

(ZCH)

Houston 

(ZHN)

Los 

Angeles 

(ZLA)

Miami 

(ZMI)

Newark 

(ZNK)

New York 

(ZNY)

San 

Francisco 

(ZSF) Aggregate

Feel officer was argumentative or biased

Yes 15% 16% 18% 23% 14% 15% 29% 10% 17%

No 85% 84% 82% 77% 86% 85% 71% 90% 83%

Customer Satisfaction Index 88 94 93 85 94 85 70 89 87

Number of Respondents 91 91 108 100 101 88 106 155 840

Table 7: Asylum Officer by Office

Table 8: Officer was Argumentative or Biased by Office
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 13 CFI Group

Wait Times and Front Desk

Impact 1.1

Overall, waiting time was not an issue and front desk staff were very polite across the asylum offices. The 

area of Wait Times and Front Desk was rated highly at 88. Front desk staff were very polite (94). 

Respondents were highly satisfied with the wait time between the filing date and the interview date (87); they 

were less satisfied with the wait time for the start of the interview (82).

Office-level scores were relatively consistent for Wait Times and Front Desk. Los Angeles and New York 

were on the lower end of scores, but still were rated in the low 80s, while Chicago, Houston and Miami were 

rated 93 or higher. Politeness of the front desk staff was consistently rated high across all locations as no

rating was below 90 at any office for this attribute. Satisfaction with wait time for start of the interview was the 

attribute which separated lower scoring locations from higher scoring ones. For Los Angeles, in particular, as 

well as those locations scoring in the 70s (New York, Newark and San Francisco) this may be an opportunity 

to improve.

88

94

87

82

Wait Times and Front Desk

Politeness of front desk staff

Satisfaction with time between filing date and interview 

date

Satisfaction with wait time for start of interview

Arlington 

(ZAR)

Chicago 

(ZCH)

Houston 

(ZHN)

Los 

Angeles 

(ZLA)

Miami 

(ZMI)

Newark 

(ZNK)

New 

York 

(ZNY)

San 

Francisco 

(ZSF)

Aggregate

Wait Times and Front Desk 91 95 94 82 93 86 83 85 88

Satisfaction with time between filing 

date and interview date 91 92 94 81 94 84 79 84 87

Politeness of front desk staff 97 97 97 90 95 93 90 90 94

Satisfaction with wait time for start of 

interview 81 95 88 72 90 78 77 78 82

N=931 

Table 9: Aggregate Wait Times and Front Desk

Table 10: Wait Times and Front Desk by Office
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 14 CFI Group

Website

Impact 0.6

Overall, 45% of customers visited the USCIS website for asylum information. ZAR (60%) and ZCH (57%) 

have the highest percentage of website visitors, while ZNY (28%) has the lowest.

Only one attribute was measured concerning the Website, usefulness of asylum-related information. Overall, 

respondents found this portion of the Website to provide very useful information with a rating of 85. The 

Website has a rather modest (0.6) impact on Customer Satisfaction with USCIS asylum benefit services.

In summary, satisfaction with the USCIS Asylum Offices is high due mainly to the strong performance of 

Asylum Officers. They are knowledgeable and provide customers with the information they need. Across 

seven of eight offices, Asylum Officers score in the high 80s or 90s. Only the New York Office scores 

Arlington 

(ZAR)

Chicago 

(ZCH)

Houston 

(ZHN)

Los 

Angeles 

(ZLA)

Miami 

(ZMI)

Newark 

(ZNK)

New York 

(ZNY)

San 

Francisco 

(ZSF) Aggregate

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent

Visited USCIS website for asylum info

Visited website 60% 57% 46% 33% 35% 49% 28% 52% 45%

Did not visit website 40% 43% 54% 67% 65% 51% 72% 48% 55%

Number of Respondents 96 105 116 110 108 95 111 165 906

85

85

Website

Usefulness of asylum info on website

Table 12: Aggregate Website

N=492 

Table 11: Visited Website by Office
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 15 CFI Group

considerably lower for Asylum Officer performance. Front Desk staff, who often provide the initial impression 

of the Office to customers, are highly polite. This was true across all offices. Wait time, as measured as the 

time between the filing date and the interview is not an issue. The wait time for the start of the interview once 

the customer is at the office was not problematic at most offices, however, the scores at Newark, New York, 

Los Angeles and San Francisco indicate these offices may be able to improve. In addition to evaluating 

offices, customers rated the asylum portion of the USCIS Website; it appears to be meeting their information 

needs well. With overall satisfaction so high (87), it may be difficult to significantly improve this number. As 

mentioned in the executive summary, while at certain locations there appears some opportunity for 

improvement (i.e. New York, Newark, Los Angeles and San Francisco), USCIS is delivering a high level of 

service through its asylum offices.
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 16 CFI Group

APPENDIX A: NON-MODELED RESPONSES
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 17 CFI Group

Percent Frequency

Visited USCIS website for asylum info

Visited website 45% 409

Did not visit website 55% 497

Number of Respondents

Feel officer was argumentative or biased

Yes 17% 145

No 83% 695

Number of Respondents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Response Count

906

840

Table 13: Aggregate Responses to Non-Modeled Questions
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 18 CFI Group

Arlington 

(ZAR)

Chicago 

(ZCH)

Houston 

(ZHN)

Los 

Angeles 

(ZLA)

Miami 

(ZMI)

Newark 

(ZNK)

New York 

(ZNY)

San 

Francisco 

(ZSF) Aggregate

Visited USCIS website for asylum info

Visited website 60% 57% 46% 33% 35% 49% 28% 52% 45%

Did not visit website 40% 43% 54% 67% 65% 51% 72% 48% 55%

Number of Respondents 96 105 116 110 108 95 111 165 906

Feel officer was argumentative or biased

Yes 15% 16% 18% 23% 14% 15% 29% 10% 17%

No 85% 84% 82% 77% 86% 85% 71% 90% 83%

Number of Respondents 91 91 108 100 101 88 106 155 840

Table 14: Responses to Non-Modeled Questions by Office
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 19 CFI Group

APPENDIX B: RESULTS TABLES
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 20 CFI Group

Scores

Sample Size

Website 85 0.6

Usefulness of asylum info on website 85 --

Wait Times and Front Desk 88 1.1

Satisfaction with time between filing date and interview date 87 --

Politeness of front desk staff 94 --

Satisfaction with wait time for start of interview 82 --

Asylum Officer 89 3.3

Politeness of officer 92 --

Officer provided information needed 88 --

Knowledge of officer 87 --

Customer Satisfaction Index 87 N/A

Overall satisfaction 89 --

Satisfaction compared to expectations 85 --

Satisfaction compared to ideal 88 --

933

Aggregate 

Impact

Table 15: Aggregate Scores and Impacts
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 21 CFI Group

Arlington 

(ZAR)

Chicago 

(ZCH)

Houston 

(ZHN)

Los 

Angeles 

(ZLA)

Miami 

(ZMI)

Newark 

(ZNK)

New 

York 

(ZNY)

San 

Francisco 

(ZSF) Aggregate

Sample Size 101 115 116 110 109 95 118 169 933

Wait Times and Front Desk 91 95 94 82 93 86 83 85 88

Satisfaction with time between filing date and interview date 91 92 94 81 94 84 79 84 87

Politeness of front desk staff 97 97 97 90 95 93 90 90 94

Satisfaction with wait time for start of interview 81 95 88 72 90 78 77 78 82

Asylum Officer 90 94 94 87 94 89 73 90 89

Politeness of officer 91 96 96 91 95 92 81 92 92

Officer provided information needed 89 94 93 82 96 88 69 91 88

Knowledge of officer 89 92 91 86 93 86 69 87 87

Customer Satisfaction Index 88 94 93 85 94 85 70 89 87

Overall satisfaction 87 94 94 88 95 87 72 91 89

Satisfaction compared to expectations 89 93 91 81 91 83 66 88 85

Satisfaction compared to ideal 88 94 93 85 94 84 72 89 88

Strength Score 90 and above

Monitor Score 85 - 89

Improve Score below 85

Table 16: Scores by Location
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 22 CFI Group

Sample Size

Website 78 87 Y

Usefulness of asylum info on website 78 87 Y

Wait Times and Front Desk 80 90 Y

Satisfaction with time between filing date and interview date 79 88 Y

Politeness of front desk staff 87 95 Y

Satisfaction with wait time for start of interview 70 84 Y

Asylum Officer 73 92 Y

Politeness of officer 76 95 Y

Officer provided information needed 72 91 Y

Knowledge of officer 69 90 Y

Customer Satisfaction Index 72 90 Y

Overall satisfaction 74 91 Y

Satisfaction compared to expectations 70 88 Y

Satisfaction compared to ideal 73 90 Y

145

Yes

695

Scores

Significant 

Difference

No

Table 17: Scores by Officer was Argumentative or Biased

Y – indicates a significant difference at a 90% level of confidence.
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 23 CFI Group

APPENDIX C: VERBATIM COMMENTS
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 24 CFI Group

Q13. What can this USCIS Asylum Office do to improve its service to you?

Arlington (ZAR)

All is good.

Allow to use the computer while we wait.

Coffee or water fountain will help the experience.

Do not return applications when one box is not checked. Only return if the application is so incomplete that it 

cannot be processed. Otherwise, great job.

Everything what I saw was excellent to my understanding but I believe there should be room for 

improvement any time when the time demands. Many thanks!

Excellent interviewer! Excellent service overall, I really like the welcoming people at the reception area.

Give people a chance to express cry and fully show their feelings pertaining to their case.

I am very satisfied.

I think it's satisfactory what they have all an office already, fast and effective. Good work and a great team.

It's very nice in here, can't compare with my country.

Keep the hard work you guys so up!

Nothing, the office was really good with me. Thank you so much, have a happy holiday.

Paper towels in the toilet, please.

Perfect.

Please start the interview within 30 minutes to 1 hour of the appointment time. Spend all morning at the 

asylum office is a waste of time.

Put a water fountain.

Reduce the waiting time for clients and attorneys. We were scheduled for 7:30 but waited for more than 2.5 

hours to be interviewed.

(Name deleted) was great - she is a nice person.

So far so good.

They could provide me links so that I live my life following my orientation. The asylum office could help me 

out by upgrading my asylum so that my dreams are fulfilled in accordance with the present homosexual law 

passed.

Very good experience. A somewhat long wait time but that's to be expected. All staff were polite and 

respectful.

Very good.

Very positive experience for me so please keep it up.

Waiting time.

Chicago (ZCH)

All excellent.

All good.

Both (names deleted) were helpful and appeared very knowledgeable about the process. Their approach to 

the case was very thoughtful and professional.

Everything is okay.

Excellent and professional.

Explain situations more clearly, understand the feeling of the applicant.

He was very friendly and very understanding. Made me feel comfortable.

I think I had more to add but there was no time.

I was very comfortable and I don't feel like there is anything to add or subtract.

Just keep up the good work.

Keep it up.
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 25 CFI Group

Nothing needed.

She made me understand the English of the USA because its different, the American English, so our content 

with the services.

There is no need for improvement, my reception was very prompt.

Try to have a better understanding of traditions and cultures in their countries.

Very good job already.

Very satisfied.

Was really great, I do appreciate all. May Jehovah good bless you.

You are fine, I like this office.

Houston (ZHN)

Am okay with the services.

As far as improving, I believe that the USCIS office has provided great service to me and made everything 

clear to understand so I have no suggestions.

At this time, everything is great.

Change the amount of waiting time.

Continue doing the best for everyone who needs your help.

Everything here is excellent. Good treatment.

Everything is good.

Everything is ok.

Everything was very good except the interview was a little rude.

Everything's good.

Excellent service.

For me, the service was good. She was nice and helpful.

I have never been in the ideal government office.

I personally feel everything is good.

I think all the services are good everybody was polite and understandable, I'm happy with my experience.

I think be just more accurate according to time and make applicants feel they are welcomed even more.

I think everything is perfect.

I think everything is perfect. I am happy and thank you for assisting us.

In my opinion, everything is very good and your staff is polite.

In my opinion, they assisted me perfectly. They don't have to improve anything in my opinion.

It would help to have a vending machine.

Just keep it up.

Mail would be very good as I find very difficult from Dallas very early with a child.

Make the waiting time less.

More restrooms.

My experience with USCIS was a good and on time so I think they are doing a very good job. I was 

impressed with the service.

No comment for the moment.

Nothing I can think of.

Nothing. Everything good.

Nothing. Everything is good. Very good service.

Only the wait time for the interview. It was more than 2 hours, be a little more accessible.

Really I feel satisfied of all services provided.

Service was good and efficient.
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 26 CFI Group

So far so good.

Thanks for everything, it's appreciated.

The first officer hearing my case was very argumentative and combative and made me feel terribly 

uncomfortable. The second officer was very welcoming and allowed me to tell my story fully.

The officer who did the interview was very nice, friendly, and human.

They are perfect.

To interview us personally, without attorney, and provide the trust of a human being.

To me, everything seemed very good. Thank you for your kindness.

USCIS is good what you are doing. Giving a new life to people and let them live freely which they cannot 

live in their own country. Thank you so much for that.

Very personable. The suggestion to have bilingual employees out here, congratulations.

Well, I think they have very good service and we are thankful for your asylum.

Los Angeles (ZLA)

Everything is perfect.

For me I'm satisfied.

I feel everything good what they did me.

I think everything is perfect.

No. Very well.

Nothing that I can think of at the moment.

Nothing. Everything is fine.

Nothing. Thank you.

Ok.

The overall service was good. Just [illegible]. I am ok with service.

The waiting time is too long.

The waiting time is very long but understandable. Maybe less time.

Very good!

Miami (ZMI)

Apparently nothing - I think the way they treated us was excellent.

Attend to people faster.

Call applicant on time.

Cannot think of anything right now to improve the service, how do you improve on perfection?

Continue being polite.

Continue improving the quality of the service.

During the waiting period after the receptionist took our information we waited approximately one hour, I 

would like it to have been a bit faster.

Everything is good, we were treated with politeness and respect. Thank you.

Everything normal.

Everything perfect.

Everything very good and complete.

Everything was well took care of, everyone was nice, thanks.

Excellent and they should continue improving.

Excellent services.

Hope they granted me the asylum because I'm really in need.

I think that the services is satisfactory.
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 27 CFI Group

I was happy and not stressful. He took his time and asked me the questions different ways so I can get them 

and I appreciate his services.

I was happy with the interview.

If I can bring water inside.

Improve the location.

In general it's very good.

It is ok so far.

Just that the interviews should be more punctual.

Keep it up, congratulations.

Not everything is perfect but I love how they treated me.

Nothing else. It's good service.

Nothing.

Nothing. It's great how it is.

Offer translation services.

Officer was nice and professional.

Order coffee.

Smile more.

Super service.

They are good, there is nothing to improve.

The asylum employees or officers should be less pedantic and cynical and they should respect the stories 

and experiences of the applicants.

To standardize processes (presentation of evidence).

Newark (ZNK)

Everything is very good. So far what I could understand, the atmosphere and the service was very well. No 

need to improve anything unless you decide to improve something. Thanks.

Everything was fine.

God bless you.

Hard to wait long from receiving discussion.

I have come with friends seeking asylum... I have dealt with a lot of different offices from social security to 

emigration and have found this office is by far, run very well.

I'm very content. The people that assisted me were extremely kind. I feel very comfortable. God bless 

America!

It's difficult to improve the service because it is excellent.

Just do it a little faster. Overall it's very good.

Keep it up. May god bless you all.

Nothing more, it is perfect.

Personnel who speak Spanish, please.

Provide information about local interpreter services for little or few cost. Interpreters just like you do lawyers!

Sometimes waiting too much causes exhaustion, especially for someone who has kids with himself.

Thank you USA.

The security guards are wonderful people. People at front desk are polite and respectful. Most of asylum 

officers are professional and do not intimidate the applicants. Overall, I am very happy with the services 

provided by your asylum office. Thank you.

They are doing so good. Keep up with the good work and my encouragement to the whole staff of USCIS.

They were punctual and cordial.
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 28 CFI Group

Very good service. But maybe you can put electronic board for numbers to call people. Everything else was 

perfect, thanks.

Was correct and respectful all the service just will be good . A clock on the wall.

New York (ZNY)

Everything is good.

Everything is very nice, thank you.

Everything's perfect.

I'm very satisfied.

Just keep up the good services

My service overall was good with exception of the officer which directed my interview in a coercive and 

threatening manner.

No comments - services excellent.

Please put short stops like do, 1,2,3,4 for asylum and write the clear address so I can send the application 

easily. So, it easy for I can make the application alone so I am able to be save.

Provide timely response to application.

Speed up.

The staff has to be more understandable how the applicants feel.

The transportation is not good because no convenient public transport.

Was good.

San Francisco (ZSF)

All is good, could be better.

Allow coffee while you wait.

Always the same.

Asylum office has good service overall.

Be prompt in decision.

Continue with the same process. Up to this point, they have fulfilled my expectations.

Don't get discouraged.

Everything is good - thanks for providing an opportunity.

Everything is so good. I'm very satisfied with their service so far.

Everything is very good, so, no more comments and suggestions sir.

Everything is very good.

Everything seemed good to me. It's a good service.

Everything seemed perfect to me.

Everything was good.

From my point of view, everything is good.

Front desk could be more courteous and help answer inquiries in a polite attitude instead of being impatient.

He was nice to me.

I am satisfied. So I can't come up with any new idea right now.

I am very satisfied with the services of SF asylum office. They make me proud to be an American.

I had some problems to sign in at USCIS website with my receipt number.

I is satisfactory but waiting time when called for interview and result should be shortened.

I think everything is perfect on my case I like it.

I think that everything is okay.

If possible, give me more information.
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 29 CFI Group

If the waiting time can be shorter. Otherwise everything is excellent.

Improve wait time.

In reality it was better than I thought it would be. Excellent.

It would be good if an applicant had a chance to review with his interpreter if the officer made his notes 

correctly.

Just keep on doing what your guys are doing. You are so wonderful. Thank you.

Just thank you!

More courteous, overall good.

No comments, everything was good.

Nothing - all service is great, thanks.

Nothing much, just keep up the good work.

Provide free coffee and donuts.

Reduce the want period to go into the interview.

Reduce wait time.

Shorter wait times in waiting area.

Talk slowly and type slowly too. When they type less make me nervous.

That the security personnel in front smile and greet you.

The asylum office should have more time to listen to the whole thing. It seems the time is too little for the full 

explanation from applicants.

The officer would have more patience.

The people here make genuine difference in our lives, thank you very much.

The time of the interview take long waiting hour, that suck the energy of the interview and the interview take 

so much time without break. The loss of concentration of the interviewee.

There are some doubtful information on USCI website. As an example in time of need to apply for green 

card after asylum approved. Do need the one year period to be total one year or continuously or it can be 

fulfill in separate times but sum of one year.

This interview was relatively on time, but, I think that in many cases the wait is very long.

Very good.

We are completely happy with the service this office provides me.

We are content with how they treated us. Thanks for everything and for the service.

Would like a drinking fountain in the waiting room.

You guys are doing a wonderful job!
USCIS – RAIO 2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Final Report 30 CFI Group

APPENDIX D: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
USCIS Customer Satisfaction Survey [Rev. 7/28/2011]

(Please turn page and continue on back)

 ―►►

(very dissatisfied) (very satisfied)

    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY

Date: _________________ Asylum Office: _______________________

Introduction 

We would like to know how we are doing in providing services to our customers. Do you have a few moments to 

take a short survey? You must be at least 18 years old to participate. Please note that the survey is voluntary, 

anonymous, and will not affect your individual case. We estimate that it will take approximately 5-10 minutes 

to complete. 

The USCIS point of contact for this survey is Jason Ackleson, Office of Policy and Strategy, 202-272-1722. The

survey is authorized under Office of Management and Budget Control #1090-0007.

Website

(1) Have you visited the USCIS website (www.uscis.gov) for asylum information within the last six months? 

Yes No 

(2) If yes to Question (1), how useful was 

the asylum information on the USCIS 

website?

Wait Times and Front Desk

The following questions relate to your asylum interview experience:

(3) After filing your asylum application, how

satisfied were you with the amount of 

time between the date of filing and the 

date of your interview? 

(4) When you checked in for your interview,

how polite was the front desk staff? 

(5) After you checked in at the front desk on

the day of your interview, how satisfied 

were you with the amount of time you 

waited to start the interview?

 (please circle a number from 1-10)

 (not useful) (very useful) 

    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

(very dissatisfied) (very satisfied)

    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 (very impolite) (very polite)

    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
 (did not meet (exceeded my

 my expectations) expectations)

    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 (not very close (very close

 to the ideal) to the ideal)

    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 (very dissatisfied) (very satisfied)

    

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Asylum Interview

The following questions relate to the officer who conducted your asylum interview:

(6) How polite was the asylum officer?

(7) How well did the asylum officer provide

the information you needed? 

(8) How knowledgeable was the asylum

officer about your issues?

(9) Did you feel that the asylum officer’s approach was argumentative or biased?

 

YES (argumentative / biased)  NO (not argumentative / not biased) 

Overall Experience

(10) How satisfied are you with the overall 

service provided by this Asylum Office?

(11) To what extent has this Asylum Office

met your expectations during your

visit?

(12) How well does this Asylum Office

compare with the ideal government 

office?

Other Comments

(13) What can this USCIS Asylum Office do to improve its service to you?

___________________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

 (not very (very 

 knowledgeable) knowledgeable)

    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 (did not provide) (provided all)

    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 (very impolite) (very polite)

    

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10