The Waiting Is The Hardest Part: USCIS Processing Times

As a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, one of the committees I actively participate on is our Washington State Congressional Liaison / Advocacy Committee. It is a pleasure to work with dedicated advocates for immigration reform. We discuss immigration law and policy and maintain relationships as constituents with Congressional offices. Once per year, some of us travel to Washington D.C. to participate in a National Day of Action, where we meet with Congressional members and staffers to discuss the ever-controversial topics in immigration.

Immigration reform is much discussed, from the right and the left, but never really seems to happen in DC. Nevertheless, policies at the administrative level are constantly shifting. On a daily to weekly basis, something is always happening. For example, in the past week, the White House issued Presidential Proclamation 10817, which restricts border crossings further. USCIS today announced a new form that all applicants for parole and re-entry permits must use, effective today, and all previous forms will not be accepted. The Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin came out today, impacting all who wish to apply for immigrant visas. Tomorrow brings a new day, but I’m not expecting any changes from Congress anytime soon, especially with the election less than a month away.

Here is a report I delivered on current processing times at our most recent meeting. Below, I have listed some of the USCIS processing times posted this week at the agency’s website, www.uscis.gov.

Current Processing Time Examples (with a few filing fees quoted too!):

I-90 Application – green card renewal – 24-27 months at the Potomac Service Center

                Filing Fee- $465 or $415 (paper/on-line)

I-129 H-1B to be issued abroad- 5 months at the California Service Center

Filing fees vary for the H-1B petitions, but for a normal, not small and non cap-exempt employer will normally include (Large employer- $780 I-129, $600 Asylum, $500 Fraud, $1500 ACWIA Fee, and $2805 Premium Processing, plus visa processing costs)

Extensions and Changes of Status – 3 months at CSC

I-140 EB1A (Extraordinary) – 12.5 months at Nebraska Service Center

EB1C (Executive/Manager)- 12 months at NSC

National Interest Waiver (NIW) – 11.5 months

Schedule A Nurses (Green card I-140s) – 11.5 months

I-130 Immediate Relative petition at National Benefits Center – 45.5 months

                At all Field Offices – 62.5 months

I-131 Advance Parole at National Benefits Center- 11.5 months

I-485 Family-based adjustment at Seattle USCIS Field Office – 14.5 months

I-601 Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility – 28.5 months at Nebraska Service Center

I-918 Petition for U status – 54.5 months

I-765 EADs-         1 month for pending asylum application

                                4 months for F-1 application

                                1.5 to 4.5 for H-4s, depending on Service Center

                                4 – 7.5 months for adjustment of status applicant, depending on Service Center

N-400 Naturalization – Seattle (5.5 months); Spokane (6.5 months); Yakima (6.5 months) – no office north of Seattle!

                Fees- $760 paper filing; $710 online filing, with fee reduction and waivers available for qualifying applicants