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Backlogs Continue to Grow: Is There an End in Sight?
Despite President Bush's pledge in 2000 to reduce immigration backlogs to 180 days or less, the processing of immigration applications at Service Centers and District Offices has increased dramatically. Finally, the Immigration Service is beginning to roll out a number of pilot programs to speed the processing of
applications.
Is immigration backlog reduction in full swing, or are these new programs "too little, too late?"
THE PROBLEM
It is difficult to exaggerate the dimensions of the problem. Applications for adjustment of status which took 3 months to process in 1994 and 11 months to process in 2001, now take over 33 months! In 2001, you could replace your green card in 4 months. Now, the same procedure takes 19 months. The number
of applications which have been pending 180 days or more have increased from 1.8 million in 2000 to 3.4 million according to government's General Accounting Office.
On March 29, the Los Angeles Times featured a story about immigration backlogs on the front page. It quoted me as saying the backlogs are longer now than at any time during the 30+ years that I have been practicing law. The story also quotes Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA) who stated that "we make the legal process as cumbersome and difficult as we can" thereby "encouraging the very illegality we are trying to deter." We link to the Times story at
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...ts_latimes/backlogofimmigrantpaperworkgrowing
On April 7, the Sacramento Bee also did an in-depth article about growing immigration backlogs and also quoted us as well as immigration attorneys Dan Kowalski and Ann Kantor. See
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/8796001p-9723144c.html
THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM
No one doubts that the security checks that were instituted after September 11, 2001 are partially responsible for the increase in backlogs.
However, a number of points need to be made about these security checks. First, the September 11th attacks were not the result of some breakdown in the immigration process. The terrorists had no prior records which would have been revealed by security checks. Two of the terrorists might have been stopped trying to enter the U.S. if other agencies had alerted the INS of their names in a timely fashion, but this is not the fault of the INS. Second, the security checks add to the agency's workload, but Congress has not granted the agency the funds it needs to cope with this additional workload. Per Bill Yates, a top official with the Immigration Service, the agency is performing
full checks on 7 million applicants annually as opposed to 2.5 million before the attacks. Of the 4,500 officers who decide applications, 1,000 are doing nothing but performing security checks. Clearly, this is having a negative effect on immigration backlogs. Instead of putting its money where its mouth
is, the Administration is again proposing that immigration fees be raised. Third, the security checks are not focused. It was not Mexicans or Indians or Filipinos who flew planes into the World Trade Center, yet every single applicant for immigration benefits must undergo a security check. This lack of focus bogs down the law enforcement process. When police are looking for a crime suspect, they usually have a description: "white male Caucasian in his 20s, heavy-set, 5'8" to 5'10" with a scar on his right cheek." If they simply stopped every person they encountered, very few crimes would be solved.
Clearly the Immigration Service needs to rethink the way it is presently conducting its security checks.
THE SOLUTION
During the past few weeks, the USCIS has proposed a number of innovative ideas and pilot programs, many of which show promise:
* Multiyear EADs - In the February 2004 issue of our newsletter, we suggested that the USCIS consider issuing EADs for more than one year. See
http://shusterman.com/feb04.html#7
In March, the USCIS forwarded a regulation to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which would enable them to do just that. The OMB has until June to consider the rule. If it wins OMB's approval, we could have multiyear EADs sometime this summer.
* Dallas District I-485 Pilot Program - On April 13, the USCIS is
scheduled to use the InfoPass program (See Topic #4 below.) in the Dallas USCIS office, and interview certain family-based and lottery-based I-485 applicants on the same day that they submit their applications. These lucky spouses and lottery winners will not even have to submit applications for EADs and advance
paroles because the plan is to issue their green cards within 90 days. Read about the pilot program on the InfoPass section of our "USCIS" page at
http://shusterman.com/ins.html#1b
* CSC I-140/I-485 Pilot Program - Before the end of April the California Service Center (CSC) is scheduled to implement a program in which persons with approved labor certificates who submit concurrently-filed I-140s under the EB-2 category and I-485s can have both applications decided (and hopefully approved)
within 90 days. This will free the CSC from having to issue EADs, Advance Paroles and multiple fingerprint checks for these applicants.
In addition, the CSC will target previously-filed I-140 (EB-2, non-NIW)/I-485 applications with the goal of bringing their processing times down to 90 days. Finally, the CSC will concurrently process pending I-140/I-485 applications in ALL CATEGORIES in order to bring their processing times to below one year!
* Los Angeles I-90 Pilot Program - The USCIS's District Office in Los Angeles has already started to process all electronically-filed I-90s in an expeditious manner. When the applicant goes to the Application Support Center (ASC) for biometrics (fingerprints, photos, etc.), the ASC will "push the button" and the green card will be made and mailed to the applicant immediately!
The green cards will still be made at the card facility, but the ASCs will be linked to the facility. Caveat: I-90s for children who need new green cards because they are turning 14 years of age cannot be filed electronically.
CONCLUSION
USCIS's new pilot programs hold great promise for the future if they are implemented in a fair manner, and if they are expanded as quickly as possible.
The multi-year EAD should be accompanied by a multi-year Advance Parole.
The government should solve the slowdown brought about by the security check system by making it more focused and by fully funding the security checks.
We will continue to update our subscribers as to the progress of the USCIS's backlog reduction program.
Despite President Bush's pledge in 2000 to reduce immigration backlogs to 180 days or less, the processing of immigration applications at Service Centers and District Offices has increased dramatically. Finally, the Immigration Service is beginning to roll out a number of pilot programs to speed the processing of
applications.
Is immigration backlog reduction in full swing, or are these new programs "too little, too late?"
THE PROBLEM
It is difficult to exaggerate the dimensions of the problem. Applications for adjustment of status which took 3 months to process in 1994 and 11 months to process in 2001, now take over 33 months! In 2001, you could replace your green card in 4 months. Now, the same procedure takes 19 months. The number
of applications which have been pending 180 days or more have increased from 1.8 million in 2000 to 3.4 million according to government's General Accounting Office.
On March 29, the Los Angeles Times featured a story about immigration backlogs on the front page. It quoted me as saying the backlogs are longer now than at any time during the 30+ years that I have been practicing law. The story also quotes Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA) who stated that "we make the legal process as cumbersome and difficult as we can" thereby "encouraging the very illegality we are trying to deter." We link to the Times story at
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...ts_latimes/backlogofimmigrantpaperworkgrowing
On April 7, the Sacramento Bee also did an in-depth article about growing immigration backlogs and also quoted us as well as immigration attorneys Dan Kowalski and Ann Kantor. See
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/8796001p-9723144c.html
THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM
No one doubts that the security checks that were instituted after September 11, 2001 are partially responsible for the increase in backlogs.
However, a number of points need to be made about these security checks. First, the September 11th attacks were not the result of some breakdown in the immigration process. The terrorists had no prior records which would have been revealed by security checks. Two of the terrorists might have been stopped trying to enter the U.S. if other agencies had alerted the INS of their names in a timely fashion, but this is not the fault of the INS. Second, the security checks add to the agency's workload, but Congress has not granted the agency the funds it needs to cope with this additional workload. Per Bill Yates, a top official with the Immigration Service, the agency is performing
full checks on 7 million applicants annually as opposed to 2.5 million before the attacks. Of the 4,500 officers who decide applications, 1,000 are doing nothing but performing security checks. Clearly, this is having a negative effect on immigration backlogs. Instead of putting its money where its mouth
is, the Administration is again proposing that immigration fees be raised. Third, the security checks are not focused. It was not Mexicans or Indians or Filipinos who flew planes into the World Trade Center, yet every single applicant for immigration benefits must undergo a security check. This lack of focus bogs down the law enforcement process. When police are looking for a crime suspect, they usually have a description: "white male Caucasian in his 20s, heavy-set, 5'8" to 5'10" with a scar on his right cheek." If they simply stopped every person they encountered, very few crimes would be solved.
Clearly the Immigration Service needs to rethink the way it is presently conducting its security checks.
THE SOLUTION
During the past few weeks, the USCIS has proposed a number of innovative ideas and pilot programs, many of which show promise:
* Multiyear EADs - In the February 2004 issue of our newsletter, we suggested that the USCIS consider issuing EADs for more than one year. See
http://shusterman.com/feb04.html#7
In March, the USCIS forwarded a regulation to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which would enable them to do just that. The OMB has until June to consider the rule. If it wins OMB's approval, we could have multiyear EADs sometime this summer.
* Dallas District I-485 Pilot Program - On April 13, the USCIS is
scheduled to use the InfoPass program (See Topic #4 below.) in the Dallas USCIS office, and interview certain family-based and lottery-based I-485 applicants on the same day that they submit their applications. These lucky spouses and lottery winners will not even have to submit applications for EADs and advance
paroles because the plan is to issue their green cards within 90 days. Read about the pilot program on the InfoPass section of our "USCIS" page at
http://shusterman.com/ins.html#1b
* CSC I-140/I-485 Pilot Program - Before the end of April the California Service Center (CSC) is scheduled to implement a program in which persons with approved labor certificates who submit concurrently-filed I-140s under the EB-2 category and I-485s can have both applications decided (and hopefully approved)
within 90 days. This will free the CSC from having to issue EADs, Advance Paroles and multiple fingerprint checks for these applicants.
In addition, the CSC will target previously-filed I-140 (EB-2, non-NIW)/I-485 applications with the goal of bringing their processing times down to 90 days. Finally, the CSC will concurrently process pending I-140/I-485 applications in ALL CATEGORIES in order to bring their processing times to below one year!
* Los Angeles I-90 Pilot Program - The USCIS's District Office in Los Angeles has already started to process all electronically-filed I-90s in an expeditious manner. When the applicant goes to the Application Support Center (ASC) for biometrics (fingerprints, photos, etc.), the ASC will "push the button" and the green card will be made and mailed to the applicant immediately!
The green cards will still be made at the card facility, but the ASCs will be linked to the facility. Caveat: I-90s for children who need new green cards because they are turning 14 years of age cannot be filed electronically.
CONCLUSION
USCIS's new pilot programs hold great promise for the future if they are implemented in a fair manner, and if they are expanded as quickly as possible.
The multi-year EAD should be accompanied by a multi-year Advance Parole.
The government should solve the slowdown brought about by the security check system by making it more focused and by fully funding the security checks.
We will continue to update our subscribers as to the progress of the USCIS's backlog reduction program.