I-131 Re-Entry Permit Processing Times
Processing times of I-131 re-entry permits have been slow and have not shown any improvements in the past 2 years. Currently, taking about one year to 16 months.
Processing Times for Family-based petitions and applications, including I-130 and I-485
March 13, 2023 A sample I-130 approval (marriage based) showing 17 months of processing time. February 16, 2023 Processing times remain unchanged for I-130 petitions by US citizens for their spouses. Expect more than one year. January 9, 2023 Here's a sample I-130 approval for a spouse of a US citizen. The total processing time is about one year, matching the posted time frame for Texas. Note...
I-129F, Fiance(e) or spouse and/or dependent children, processing times
Update February 22, 2023 Took 16 months for USCIS to approve the I-129 K-1 petition. Then another 2 months to transfer to NVC. Now waiting for the case to be transferred to the consulate. Original Post January 3, 2023 Processing of K-1 cases is slow, currently taking about 16 months. And this is just the first step, the adjudication of the I-129F petition. Here's a recent sample. We'll be...
Visa Bulletin Update FY 2023
March 2023 No major changes from February. Still no cut-off date for F2A. But DOL expects one soon. EB2 for all is expected to retrogress due to the high number of use. EB3 for all will also retrogress in the coming months. Employment-based visa bulletin March 2023 Family-based visa bulletin March 2023 February 2023 F2A category will likely see a cutoff date in March. If you are a green card...
Sample EB1A Approvals
October 20, 2022 Here's a recent sample EB1A approval for a Structural Engineer living in China. Had to overcome a "give-me-everything" RFE in template form. Filed in April 2022 and approved in September 2022.
H-1B Receipt Notice Delays at the Vermont Service Center
Update July 15, 2022 The good news is that we have already received approvals for some of the H-1Bs affected by the receipt delay. Update July 1, 2022 First Vermont, now California is experiencing unusual delay in issuing H-1B receipt notices. Interestingly, Vermont has been transferring workload to California since June to address its own delay and speed up the intaking process. Update June 22,...
USCIS Expands Premium Processing to I-140 EB1 (EB1-C) and I-140 EB-2 (NIW)
Update Post, January 12, 2023 Starting January 30, 2023, premium processing will be available to new and pending: -E13 multinational executive/manager petitions. I-140 (NIW) -E21 NIW petitions no more phased expansion of premium processing. I-140 (EB-1C) Update Post, September 16, 2022 USCIS continues to expand premium processing for certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140, Immigrant...
Is the New Estimated Case Processing Time Better than Before?
On May 5, 2022, USCIS announced changes to simplify and improve how the agency communicates case processing time data to the public. Users can now immediately find the processing time information for their particular type of case, rather than seeing an aggregate of all related case types. Additional changes include: Adding drop-down options for form categories will help narrow results to only...
USCIS posts alert about “Transfer the Underlying Basis” and creates inflated expectations over EB I-485 applications
Update 06/28/2022 We are now seeing the results of the requests to transfer the underlying basis ("relink"). We started filing the requests in February. Below is a sample. In addition to sending out the written request to relink, our advice is to follow up on that request by calling USCIS and initiating a service inquiry. Client has both I-140 EB2 and I-140 EB3. I-140 485 EB3 Concurrent Filing...
Healthcare workers may request expedited processing of their pending Form I-765s (EADs)
Update 10/20/2022 On 10/20/2022, USCIS extended this flexibility. If you're a healthcare/childcare worker and have a pending I-765 that has been pending for over 90 days, you may request expedited processing. See below for definitions of a healthcare/childcare worker. Original Post 12/28/2021 On December 28, 2021, USCIS issued guidance allowing healthcare workers to request expedited processing...