What is Congress intention regarding USCIS processing times?
See for yourself, search for "immigration backlog" in this document
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi...8&directory=/diska/wais/data/108_cong_reports
H.R. Rep. No. 805, 108th Cong.
On June 17 and 23, 2004, the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, & Claims held an oversight hearing on how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), plans to fulfill the President's commitment to reduce the immigration and naturalization petition and application backlog (hereinafter, "application backlog'') to a six-month response time by FY 2006.
The President has targeted a universal
six-month processing time standard by FY 2006 for all immigration petitions filed.
Towards this goal he proposed a $500 million initiative to attain this standard and Congress has so far accommodated this initiative.
The Subcommittee examined the experience of family members and business owners suffering because the immigration backlog has prevented legitimate aliens from entering the U.S. or gaining proper status to be with their relatives or work for an American company. The hearing also reviewed the history of the now 6 million petition backlog (as of the end of FY 2003),
USCIS problems in keeping current with the application flow, and several possible solutions to assist in reducing in the backlog.
The petition backlog has had a wide ranging impact on families, business, and security issues in the U.S. Families have had to wait longer to see their loved ones come to the United States while waiting overseas for a petition approval. Even if their family member is in the U.S., and they have been able to extend their immigration status while waiting for a decision on the petition from USCIS, they are essentially in limbo status and unable to make long term decisions. Many family-based applicants feel they are unable to leave the U.S. on business or to visit family overseas until their immigration petition is adjudicated (although humanitarian parole is available, this requires more paperwork added to backlog work).
Businesses have difficulty taking on new employees without knowing whether they will be employed long-term, and yet they feel compelled to do so in the case of some aliens who possess skills otherwise unavailable in the U.S. Large American multinationals have found it increasingly difficult to act efficiently in shutting down offices in international locations, opening others, and moving their international personnel to and from the U.S. to conduct business.
International business partners or potential partners or clients are increasingly frustrated from their inability to fly freely to speak to American counterparts in the U.S. Further, businesses have been unable to timely fill positions with foreign personnel when market demands have required an immediate, if not temporary, increase in certain types of personnel (e.g., the "dot com'' boom). In some cases, these businesses lose competitiveness because of the immigration backlog factor.
