Published: September 1, 2021
Petitioners and applicants are currently expecting delays in the processing of family-based petitions, even on the issuance of receipt notices nowadays due to some factors such as COVID pandemic, increase in filings, current postal service operations, funding, and holidays. The usual timeline in the issuance of receipt notices and processing of payments used to be 2-3 weeks, but now it takes 4-6 weeks to receive receipt notices, and 8-10 weeks for N-400 and Adjustment of Status cases.
Substantial delays are present in the putting of records on their computer and mailing of receipt notices. USCIS workers somehow exert extra efforts to reduce the number of backlogs by working extra hours and shifting to more locations. Other forms such as I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence (non-family petitions) take way longer than those which are related to family-based petitions. While the processing time for Form I-29, Petition for Alien Fiancé(é), now takes up to 24 months, which is way longer than the usual 4-6 months or even sooner.
The requestor needs to become more efficient in filing of their forms by resorting to alternatives such as online application, instead of filing through regular mail where it takes 4,6, or 10 weeks to receive receipt notices. Creating a USCIS account at the same time is free to check on the status of the case. For the filing through regular mail, one might need to attach Form G-1145 to their USCIS application to receive email and text notifications for updates. USCIS always checks on CBP records for those who are entering the US to see if anyone traveled in the past 14 days, and if the case matches their information, they would have to reschedule their interview.
No applicant needs to worry about this current situation because delays in the processing do not mean rejection. USCIS officers always form their decision based usually on incomplete information, and lacking documents or qualifications. For some cases, they require submission of additional evidence probably to give applicants another chance and to allow the officer to render a complete determination of the case.
Another cause of delay is the protection that USCIS provides among their workers due to the COVID threat. Instead of gathering at one table to open a bunch of applications, workers observe social distancing that makes it harder to communicate with one another.
Biometrics appointments in the cases of removal of conditions, green card renewals, naturalization, and adjustment of status are experiencing delays due to the previous shut down of operations which took 6 months, and the social distancing measure that is now being observed. As a result, they can allow only a limited number of individuals to be scheduled per day. Petitioners and applicants may opt to request the expedition of the processing only if their case is pending longer than the processing time provided on the USCIS website.
(Please note that this article does not create an Attorney-Client relationship between our law firm and the reader and is provided for informational purposes only. Information in this article does not apply to all readers. Readers should not rely on this information as legal advice and should seek specific counsel from a qualified attorney based on their individual circumstances. Thank you.)