Hey People,
My Laywer forward to me an email from AILA folks which I copied below:
"During a telephone conversation yesterday with Evelyn Upchurch of the TSC, she passed along several bits of information which your chapter members might find helpful. Some of it is stuff you probably already know. Do with it as you will.
Evelyn acknowledged that she is very much aware of the I-130 problem, especially for immediate relatives not subject to the numerical caps. She said that they are sending about 1000 cases a month to Nebraska, so folks will be receiving transfer notices. Their office has also been given authorization to hire new officers (approx. 30). They have made selections but due to the rigorous background checks on each, it may be some time yet before they are fully deployed. She was hesitant to give an exact date, but possibly as early as mid- to late-January. Of course, it’ll take a bit of time after that for us to see any measurable impact. She is also requesting a review to try to determine why they got so far behind – to determine if there was a spike in the number of applications or if there is some other explanation.
I mentioned to her that we had received many complaints from people waiting for their employment-based I-485s to process and that there are internet chat rooms where people compare processing dates for each application type. Several people have told me that there are untold numbers of cases that were filed after theirs and which had been approved before theirs. Evelyn reiterated that it was not their policy to work these I-485s out of order unless there are compelling reasons to do so per the expedite criteria. She said that the security checks can take varying amounts of time, so it is possible for one applicant’s security checks to come back sooner than someone else’s and that case can move to approval before the other. In other instances, fingerprints may have expired for the older case and while that issue is being taken care of another case may be approved where that is not an issue. Also, an applicant’s failure to send in an address change can also hinder the processing. I told her that I’ve had people tell me that they have reported address changes several times and still the address was never updated. She said she would pass this along to Headquarters.
She also agreed to pass along to HQ a suggestion that I-765s and I-131s associated with pending I-485s remain valid until a decision on the underlying I-485 is made. This would eliminate the need for applicants to constantly refile and it would enable the Service to focus on processing the I-485s rather than these other things.
With regard to I-131s, she made the suggestion that when an applicant files one, that (s)he attach a photocopy of the original I-140 or I-485 as well as a photocopy of the Notices of Action for the I-140 or I-485. The reason is that the TSC has to be able to verify that the applicant has filed an I-140 or I-485 before they can grant the I-131 and often they have found that the applicant will use slightly different versions or spellings of his/her name. Their computer system is literal. If the I-131 comes in for a Jose Gonzalez and he filed his I-140 as Jose Gonzalez Morales, it is going to take time to match up the two. If they can see the name on the I-140 and the Notice of Action, they can match the I-131 up more quickly.
She also said that she would send info to HQ about situations involving children of US citizens who can’t file a K-4 on their own behalf and who must wait for their own I-130s to process. Currently, she says, this is not an expeditable situation, but that she would ask about it.
Hope this is helpful."
Tell me what do you think about the above statements,
Regards,
JLSBR
My Laywer forward to me an email from AILA folks which I copied below:
"During a telephone conversation yesterday with Evelyn Upchurch of the TSC, she passed along several bits of information which your chapter members might find helpful. Some of it is stuff you probably already know. Do with it as you will.
Evelyn acknowledged that she is very much aware of the I-130 problem, especially for immediate relatives not subject to the numerical caps. She said that they are sending about 1000 cases a month to Nebraska, so folks will be receiving transfer notices. Their office has also been given authorization to hire new officers (approx. 30). They have made selections but due to the rigorous background checks on each, it may be some time yet before they are fully deployed. She was hesitant to give an exact date, but possibly as early as mid- to late-January. Of course, it’ll take a bit of time after that for us to see any measurable impact. She is also requesting a review to try to determine why they got so far behind – to determine if there was a spike in the number of applications or if there is some other explanation.
I mentioned to her that we had received many complaints from people waiting for their employment-based I-485s to process and that there are internet chat rooms where people compare processing dates for each application type. Several people have told me that there are untold numbers of cases that were filed after theirs and which had been approved before theirs. Evelyn reiterated that it was not their policy to work these I-485s out of order unless there are compelling reasons to do so per the expedite criteria. She said that the security checks can take varying amounts of time, so it is possible for one applicant’s security checks to come back sooner than someone else’s and that case can move to approval before the other. In other instances, fingerprints may have expired for the older case and while that issue is being taken care of another case may be approved where that is not an issue. Also, an applicant’s failure to send in an address change can also hinder the processing. I told her that I’ve had people tell me that they have reported address changes several times and still the address was never updated. She said she would pass this along to Headquarters.
She also agreed to pass along to HQ a suggestion that I-765s and I-131s associated with pending I-485s remain valid until a decision on the underlying I-485 is made. This would eliminate the need for applicants to constantly refile and it would enable the Service to focus on processing the I-485s rather than these other things.
With regard to I-131s, she made the suggestion that when an applicant files one, that (s)he attach a photocopy of the original I-140 or I-485 as well as a photocopy of the Notices of Action for the I-140 or I-485. The reason is that the TSC has to be able to verify that the applicant has filed an I-140 or I-485 before they can grant the I-131 and often they have found that the applicant will use slightly different versions or spellings of his/her name. Their computer system is literal. If the I-131 comes in for a Jose Gonzalez and he filed his I-140 as Jose Gonzalez Morales, it is going to take time to match up the two. If they can see the name on the I-140 and the Notice of Action, they can match the I-131 up more quickly.
She also said that she would send info to HQ about situations involving children of US citizens who can’t file a K-4 on their own behalf and who must wait for their own I-130s to process. Currently, she says, this is not an expeditable situation, but that she would ask about it.
Hope this is helpful."
Tell me what do you think about the above statements,
Regards,
JLSBR