As we reported earlier, DFLC initially focused on performing the data entries in order to identify and establish the national queue and to process cases on first in first out basis. DFLC reported to the AILA that as of mid-March 2005, the Backlog Processing Centers were able to complete transfer of 250,000 cases from the states and the Regions and worked on the data entry. As the earlier cases completed data entry, the Backlog Processing Centers also started processing of actual cases with old priority dates. Since the DFLC reportedly had over 300,000 backlog cases, it is anticipated that the initial step of shipping and data entry may be completed in the near future. It is also anticipated that for the next few months, actual decision of cases may not be that visible at least until the end of September 2005.
One way to reduce the backlog was to encourage applicants to refile under the PERM system without taking too much risk and without losing priority dates, but so far the PERM initiative has failed, leaving the mountain of backlog cases behind. At this juncture, applicants want to hear from the leadership of DFLC its policy on the affect of refiling on the pending cases, but they refuse to clarify this policy issue in both "identical" case refiling as well as "not idential" case refiling by the same employer for the same employee. This indecision also hurts indirectly its efforts to reduce the backlogs. We hope to see DFLC's decisive actions on various issues in the near future to achieve its goal of the foreign labor certification system reengineering smoothly and successfully.
As the DFLC gradually moves from the data entry stage to the actual processing stage, it should also clearly define the processing rule of "first in first out." In a number of occasions, it insisted that there would be no separate queues for different type of cases such as RIR vs. Regular Applications. However, considering the fact that these two cases involve a distinctly different type of work, a single queue of FIFO is not going to work when it comes to the order of actual certification. Probably, the analysts may be able to pull out files on the basis of "first in" (priority date), but since RIR cases practically do not need any work other than review and decision, meanwhile the regular applications must go through the time-consuming supervised recruitment process, it will be absurd that the RIR cases should remain a hostage pending the decision of regulation application cases with older priority dates. Accordingly, unless the DFLC adopts separate queues for different type of cases, a single national queue ignoring different type of cases will result in the extreme ineffective and inefficient management of processing of backlogs with no purposes served what-so-ever. This is particularly true that out of 300,000 or so backlog cases, the number of RIR cases appear to small. Again, we want to remind the DFLC that all it takes to make a decision on the RIR cases is to "review and decide," period! Reasonable minds do not understand why these cases will have to sleep in the storage boxes pending processing of the mountain of regular application cases. The regular application cases need different type of processing work and processing time because of the different type of process the applicants will have to go through under the law in terms of "supervised recruitment process." The concept of "FIFO" processing rule will work only if the DFLC recognizes different type of cases requiring different type of work and processing time, and process the cases on "FIFO" basis for each type of cases separately. In other words, each type of cases should have a separate national queue and be processed on FIFO for that type of cases only.
In our opinion, the processing at the "front end" may be performed on a single national queue and on "first in" basis, but when it comes to the "back end" processing, there cannot be a single first in first out processing regardless of different type of cases. Even the front end work, it may be more efficient to process the cases in different queue for different type of cases. We hope that DFLC recognizes this issue as soon as possible before they move from the step of data entry to the next step of actual processing. For the back-end processing, a single national queue isn't going to work!!!!
source: immigration-law