USCIS Will Offer Relief to Those Impacted by Delays at USCIS Lockbox

Update June 18, 2021 If you have experienced a delayed rejection of your immigration filing which you are unable to refile due to no longer being eligible for the immigration benefit requested, please pay attention to the current flexibilities offered by USCIS. These filing flexibilities are effective for 60 days from June 10, 2021, until August 9, 2021. Refiling Eligibility You may refile your...

Expediting a Pending I-765 EAD

Update 6/11/2021 USCIS has clarified the circumstances under which it will consider expedited requests (ER). NBC is processing expedited request (ER) of EADs very quickly. Call USCIS customer service for ER and ask to speak to Tier 2 officer. Tier 2 will call back in a week or so. Provide financial loss docs. Most are approved without any docs. If doc is requested, some examples include a letter...

I-485 EB Processing Update

Update June 19, 2023 Here's a recent approval of an I-485 filed in July 2021. Took almost 2 years. Update January 25, 2023 According to February's visa bulletin, it seems like the F2A category will no longer remain "current." If you are a dependent whose I-485 did not get approved with the principal's I-485, you may consider F2A and have the principal file an I-130 on your behalf. It's difficult...

USCIS Processing Update: H-4 / H-4 EAD

Update July 26, 2023 We are glad to share some new insights into the current processing timelines for stand-alone I-539 and H-4 extensions. As of our recent observation, a stand-alone I-539 (H-4 extension) application took roughly four months for processing. However, it's important to note that when H-4 and H-4 EAD applications are filed concurrently with a premium processed H-1B application,...

USCIS is Responding Quickly to Service Request Inquiry

Update May 4, 2021 Since January of last year, we have seen an uptick in typos and errors on official notices. We've caught errors almost every month which suggests the trend will continue. Errors include name misspellings, wrong priority date, wrong DOB, missing A#, and wrong EB category (EB1 instead of EB2). We will create a new post to track these ongoing errors. It is important to look at...

USCIS Receipt Delays and Its Impact on Employment Verification

As we have been posting recently, USCIS is experiencing record delays in issuing receipt notices of various applications. We just finally received all receipt notices in connection with I-485 employment based applications in October 2020 (a 4 month wait!). It does not seems like the situation is improving as we are continuing to receive various receipt notices that are 2 to 3 months late. The...

USCIS Receipt Notice Update: Final Two I-485 Receipt Notices Received (4 months late)

Update April 2, 2021 We are now receiving EAD/AP approvals from I-485 EB applications filed in October. USCIS processing time for EAD and AP have also been updated recently to reflect the current processing timeframe. You may initiate service inquiry if EAD/AP is pending outside of the posted time frame. Update March 18, 2021 We have now received a substantial number of Biometrics Appointment...

CIS Ombudsman Provides Case Assistance on Receipt Delays, Biometrics Appointment, EAD delays

The CIS Ombudsman has issued an update regarding its services for case assistance. Receipt Delays If more than 90 days have passed since you filed a petition/application with USCIS, you may submit a request for case assistance with the CIS Ombudsman, and our office will reach out to USCIS to resolve your issue. If less than 90 days have passed since you filed a petition/application with USCIS,...

Update on the Receipt Notice Delays

Due to significant visa number movements in October 2020 which opened the door to a record influx of Green Card applications and the ongoing Covid Pandemic, USCIS has been slow in issuing receipt notices of petitions and applications. Even to this month, we have been receiving receipt notices for I485, I765, I131 that were filed in October 2020 although only a few remain outstanding. The...