U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is scheduled to publish a final rule tomorrow (07/24/2019) that will bring significant changes to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. This controversial, money-for-green-card program hasn’t seen a major revision since 1993.
USCIS
USCIS Customer Service Phone Menu – Updated May 3, 2018
USCIS National Customer Service Center provides a toll-free phone number (1-800-375-5283) for customers to call and obtain a wide range of information. The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system is designed to not only provide general immigration information, but also handle application status or other case-specific questions. Callers will also have an option to speak directly to a Customer Service Agent during business hours.
USCIS Transformation Program: One Billion Over Budget, Four Years Behind Schedule
Remember the transformation program USCIS launched years ago to convert their paper filing system to electronic filing? Well, after 10 years and billions of dollars, it is far from done. The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently released a report detailing their progress, and it isn’t pretty: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) currently expects … Read more
USCIS I-485 Statistics – January to March, 2015
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published the latest performance data of I-485 Applications to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Below is a summary of the total number of I-485 cases by category. For more detailed statistics including service center and field office data, please click here. I-485 Applications Performance Data (1/1/2015 – … Read more
USCIS I-130 Processing Times to Improve in Coming Months
In a recent post I talked about USCIS’ significant delays in processing I-130 petitions filed by U.S. citizens for their immediate relatives. I also proposed a potential reason for the issue. Apparently USCIS has been fully aware of the situation. In an email sent to stakeholders today, USCIS promised to speed up the adjudication of … Read more
Tips on Expediting USCIS Processing for Military Personnel
Author: Guy Pearson Every year, many active duty military members seek expedite on their petition due to circumstances beyond their control. Whether it be a deployment, change of station or a humanitarian assignment, many need the option to speed up their process. Additionally, non-military members are eligible for expedite of their case as well. Who is … Read more
Is DACA Linked to USCIS I-130 Processing Delays?
Recently many I-130 petitioners have received a USCIS letter stating that their case would be further delayed by about six months. The letter also says the delay is caused by workload factors not related to their case. A reader suggested DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) as the reason, so I dug up some data … Read more
Time to Reach H-1B Cap: FY-2011 to FY-2014
Here is another way to look at how quickly the annual H-1B cap has been reached over the past four years. In 2010, the annual cap for FY-2011 was reached 302 days after the season started on April 1st. This year, it took all of 5 days to do the same. According to USCIS, approximately … Read more
H-1B Visa Cap for FY-2014 Reached in One Week
H-1B visa cap has been reached one week after the season opened. USCIS announced today (April 5, 2013) that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach both the regular H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption cap. As a result, USCIS will no longer accept H-1B petitions for the entire fiscal year … Read more
Avoid Immigration Scams
Yesterday USCIS released yet another warning on “misleading” websites and the fees they charge for preparing immigration forms and applications: In recent weeks, USCIS has received a large number of applications prepared by an online business that charges users to complete their USCIS forms. In most cases, the charge for preparing an application is the … Read more