Why hasn’t your case been decided yet? USCIS Processing Times are at Crisis Levels
Millions of families, people and businesses from all around the nation who applied for humanitarian relief have to wait longer for USCIS or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process and approve their petitions and applications.
Eight years ago, an average case took around five months to process. By 2020-2021, the same applicant has to wait closer to 10 months for a resolution to their petition. That being said, the average naturalization process includes several steps and takes over 15 months to complete. These extra months of waiting time are keeping families separated, stopping businesses from flourishing and jeopardizing people’s lives.
You can speed up the process by ensuring your application or petition gets filed by a qualified naturalization lawyer. Contact BCA Law firm today to ensure smooth processing for your N-400 form – application for naturalization.
Who is affected by USCIS processing?
All individuals applying for employment authorizations, travel documents, naturalization, employment-based immigration and family-based immigration are experiencing delays. In 2020, over 90% of all immigration applications and petitions took longer to process, compared to previous years.
Are USCIS processing times delayed?
Review times at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services are delayed for most services and application, mostly due to a large backlog of applications and under staffing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from that, the COVID-19 pandemic also coincided with a larger volume of applications in 2020 and 2021.
Why are cases taking longer?
A large number of factors can slow down your case. New policies implemented by the USCIS are restricting, limiting or slowing down legal immigration. For example, USCIS officers are required to conduct duplicate reviews of past decisions, which in turn adds unnecessary work to each case.
Inefficient policies can explain why processing times are increasing, even though immigration application rates are on the decrease. The average USCIS processing time rises by around 10 to 15 percent year after year, even though the overall number of applicants decreased by around 12 percent.
Congress requires the USCIS to function as a service oriented agency on behalf of the U. S. people, but the agency is failing its mission due to slow case processing and time-consuming policies.
What can you do?
Contact your immigration lawyer and make sure to update your contact information whenever needed.
Talk to your lawyer about your expectations and the USCIS processing times – your immigration attorney can help you plan for any delays.
Visit the American Immigration Lawyers Association website and advocate for policy reforms – www.AILA.org/TakeAction.
Our immigration & naturalization law firm has the resources and skills to guide you through the process of becoming a United States citizen. Our lawyers boast over twenty years of experience in dealing with various cases, including naturalizations, applying for proof of citizenship with the USCIS & deportation relief. Contact us today or visit our offices in Norcross, Chattanooga or Macon to get started.
