Something to understand..
perm_faq said:
In recent meetings with industry groups, officials of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have indicated that, as of April 1, 2006, the agency will begin to transition to "bi-specialization" -- a workload reorganization program that will centralize adjudications at USCIS Service Centers by application or petition type, rather than geographically. Under current procedures, most Service Centers have jurisdiction over specific geographic areas, and are responsible for adjudication of a range of application and petition types. As we have reported previously, the bi-specialization program has been under discussion at the agency for some time; however, in recent weeks, USCIS officials have decided to accelerate implementation of the program.
Though the specifics of the program are still being planned and remain subject to change, as of April 1, 2006, all newly filed H-1B cases are expected to be centralized at the Vermont Service Center (VSC). Note, however, that at least initially, there will no immediate change to filing addresses, and H-1B cases will not be refused if they are filed at Service Centers other than the VSC. USCIS will use a commercial overnight service, DHL, to transfer to the VSC those cases that are filed at other Service Centers. Officials have noted that there may be a one-day delay in receipt of cases, but it is not clear whether this will affect the promised 15-day turnaround time for cases filed under the Premium Processing Service.
In July, all other nonimmigrant worker petitions filed on USCIS Form I-129, the nonimmigrant worker petition, are expected to be split between the Vermont and California Service Centers. Between July and September 2006, Form I-140 employment-based immigrant petitions, Form I-130 family-based immigrant petitions and Form I-485 applications for adjustment of status are projected to be moved to the Texas and Nebraska Service Centers. Other application and petition types will be centralized at the Nebraska and Texas Service Centers. Note that bi-specialization is likely to affect sole jurisdiction, a program that allows approved employers to file all their cases at a single Service Center, regardless of the geographical location of the position.
USCIS is expected to issue a formal announcement of the program, with implementation details and information on changes to filing procedures and addresses, before the end of this month. Full implementation of the bi-specialization program should be completed by September 2006. We will continue to monitor the implementation of bi-specialization, and will issue further updates as the agency announces its specific plans and instructions.
