Here is the section clipped:
Mayfly said:
According the USCIS Adjudicator’s Field Manual, Section 10.11, there is a general FIFO (First in First out) rule as to processing but also states it may depend on service center policy and commissioner’s fiscal year policy.
But we all know general rule of FIFO is not reality. What is their policy?
10.11 Order of Processing.
(a) Routine and Expedited Cases. Generally, applications and petitions should be processed in
the order in which they are received by the Service. Exceptions can, and should, be made for a number of different reasons, and sometimes those reasons may appear to conflict with one
another. Reasons for prioritizing certain applications and petitions over others may relate to:
•A statutory requirement, such as the requirement that joint petitions for removal of
conditions under the marriage fraud amendments be interviewed within 90 days of filing
and adjudicated within 90 days of being interviewed (section 216 of the Act), or that L-1
petitions be adjudicated within 30 days of filing (section 214(a)(2)(C) of the Act);
•Service-wide policy pertaining to the type of application or petition being filed, such as a
Commissioner’s fiscal year priority that backlogs in a given type of application or
petition be reduced to a specified level;
•Current events in the homeland of the applicant or beneficiary, such as a natural disaster
or civil war;
•Imminent events which may effect the eligibility of the applicant or petitioner, such as
the termination of a program whose duration is limited by statute or the "ageing out" of a
dependent,
•A need to coordinate actions with other branches of INS, or with other agencies in order
to meet common goals
•To correct an injustice which may have occurred, or to prevent one which may be about
to occur.
(b) Cases Held for Submission of Additional Information. When an application or petition does
not provide sufficient information to make a decision, additional evidence may be requested in
accordance with 8 CFR 103.2(b)(8), and the processing of the case held in abeyance until a
response is received (or the 12 weeks allowed for a response has expired). Upon receipt of the
response (or passage of the allotted time), the case shall be returned to its processing place based
on the original filing date. This will normally make the case ripe for immediate adjudication,
since it had already reached the that point once.
(c) Cases Pending Investigation or Decision Deferred for Other Reasons. When a case is
returned from Investigations, it should be returned to its place chronologically, according to
receipt date, for processing. Cases sent to Investigations should remain on a local call-up system
within Adjudications and reviewed periodically to determine if investigation is still warranted or
if circumstances have changed. Similarly, if a decision on a case is deferred for any other
reason, a call-up system should be maintained locally and the case reviewed to determine if
circumstances have changed sufficiently to warrant final action.