The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on March 31, 2004 an upcoming, significant change in the manner and timing of the adjudication of most EB2 concurrently filed I-140/I-485 cases by the California Service Center (CSC). The announcement advised that the USCIS will establish a pilot program at the CSC to actually adjudicate the I-140s and I-485s at the same time and that this will be significantly faster than the current process.
The announcement was made through CSC director, Don Neufeld, at an American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) liaison meeting. This pilot program will apply to all EB2 cases except National Interest Waiver (NIW) cases. If name checks and fingerprint clearances permit, the I-140s and I-485s will be adjudicated within 90 days of filing. The CSC will also attempt to contemporaneously adjudicate pending I-140s/I-485s, starting with previously filed concurrent EB2 cases, except NIWs. Though previously filed concurrent cases should be processed within one year under the pilot program, I-140 petitions not filed concurrently are not expected to experience much movement.
It is unclear exactly how the CSC is defining concurrently filed cases eligible for the program. Whether the program is limited to concurrently filed cases in which the I-140 was literally filed together with the I-485, or whether it includes cases in which the I-140 petition was filed alone but the I-485 was filed prior to the decision on the I-140, remains to be seen.
Although some people are concerned that adjudication of their previously filed I-485 cases may take longer with the establishment of this pilot project, it is a positive first step that the USCIS recognizes the problem of long-pending I-485s, and are attempting to improve processing times for all I-485 applicants by starting with this pilot project. We will monitor our CSC cases here at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, and seek information from others to detect any patterns. We will continue to watch for information on this new program to assess its value for our MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers.
The announcement was made through CSC director, Don Neufeld, at an American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) liaison meeting. This pilot program will apply to all EB2 cases except National Interest Waiver (NIW) cases. If name checks and fingerprint clearances permit, the I-140s and I-485s will be adjudicated within 90 days of filing. The CSC will also attempt to contemporaneously adjudicate pending I-140s/I-485s, starting with previously filed concurrent EB2 cases, except NIWs. Though previously filed concurrent cases should be processed within one year under the pilot program, I-140 petitions not filed concurrently are not expected to experience much movement.
It is unclear exactly how the CSC is defining concurrently filed cases eligible for the program. Whether the program is limited to concurrently filed cases in which the I-140 was literally filed together with the I-485, or whether it includes cases in which the I-140 petition was filed alone but the I-485 was filed prior to the decision on the I-140, remains to be seen.
Although some people are concerned that adjudication of their previously filed I-485 cases may take longer with the establishment of this pilot project, it is a positive first step that the USCIS recognizes the problem of long-pending I-485s, and are attempting to improve processing times for all I-485 applicants by starting with this pilot project. We will monitor our CSC cases here at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, and seek information from others to detect any patterns. We will continue to watch for information on this new program to assess its value for our MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers.