Significant Increases in Processing Times

Posted April 23, 2018

They say the wheels of justice grind slowly.  This is as true as ever in U.S. immigration.

USCIS has finally published processing time reports for its core benefits applications that match the reality of extraordinarily long delays.  Some jaw-dropping examples:

Applications for Adjustment of Status (I-485, including marriage-based applications) at the San Francisco field office are estimated at 11.5 to 16.5 months; and 9.5 to 14 months at the Sacramento field office.  As recently as summer 2017 these same applications were adjudicated in four to six months

Applications for Naturalization (N-400) at the San Francisco field office are estimated at 11 to 14 months; and 9.5 to 13 months at the Sacramento field office.  Last year we routinely saw naturalizations processed in half that time.

If you think that’s bad: Petitions to Remove Conditional Residence (I-751) reviewed at the California Service are estimated at 17.5 to 19 months!  You read that right.  If you are granted conditional permanent residence for two years in the United States based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, it will then take another one and-a-half years, sometimes longer, to gain final approval for permanent residence.

As many know, a lot can happen both personally and professionally while the well-meaning immigrant awaits extraordinarily slow decisions from the government that affect his or her future.  Prudent immigration practitioners will incorporate practical advice into their legal advice in these circumstances.

Be prudent about your finances.  Keep records and documentary evidence well-organized and for long periods of time.  Keep abreast of information USCIS routinely publishes online.  Always check with your attorney before international travel.  Don’t forget to update your address with USCIS if you move.  Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

And, of course, don’t hold your breath.

FRW

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USCIS to Begin Accepting Credit Card Payments

Posted February 14, 2018

Good news!  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will now accept credit card payments for filing most of its forms.

The new payment option is available for forms processed at USCIS Lockbox facilities.  USCIS will enter credit card data into the Pay.gov system, operated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and will then destroy the Form G-1450 to protect the credit card information.

 

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The National Interest Waiver

Posted February 6, 2018

Citations:

  • Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) §203(b)(2)(B)
  • 8 USC §1153(b)(2)(B)
  • 8 CFR § 204.5(k) et. seq.
  • Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) 22.2(j)(4)
  • Matter of New York State Dep’t of Transportation (NYSDOT), 22 I&N Dec. 215

The National Interest Waiver (NIW) is a sub-category of the Employment-Based (EB) 2nd preference immigration category.  The EB-2 category allocates immigrant visas (i.e., grants of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status, aka green cards) at an annual level equivalent to 28.6% of all worldwide immigrant visas (approx. 40,000 per year), plus any unused immigrant visas from the EB-1 category.  EB-2 is generally reserved for “members of the professions holding advanced degrees” or persons of “exceptional ability” (as opposed to the more stringent “extraordinary ability” requirement for the EB-1 category).

There are two significant differences between the EB-1 and EB-2 categories.  First, qualifying foreign workers may self-petition for LPR status in the EB-1 category – that is, petition for LPR status without a standing job offer from a U.S. employer – if claiming eligibility as a person of extraordinary ability, or as a multinational executive or manager.  Workers in the third EB-1 sub-category, outstanding professors or researchers, must have a tenure or tenure track offer from a university or institute of higher education, or a private employer actively engaged in the research, thus may not self-petition.

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USCIS Again Accepting Deferred Action (DACA) Renewal Requests

Posted January 16, 2018

Read the official USCIS notice.  According to USCIS:

“If you previously received DACA and your DACA expired on or after Sept. 5, 2016, you may still file your DACA request as a renewal request. Please list the date your prior DACA ended in the appropriate box on Part 1 of the Form I-821D.”

“If you previously received DACA and your DACA expired before Sept. 5, 2016, or your DACA was previously terminated at any time, you cannot request DACA as a renewal (because renewal requests typically must be submitted within one year of the expiration date of your last period of deferred action approved under DACA), but may nonetheless file a new initial DACA request in accordance with the Form I-821D and Form I-765 instructions.”

 

 

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