From the CSC center director:
As we make progress in completing the older background checks, the processing time for I-485's will begin to improve. However, because of the competing need to adjudicate approximately 60,000 El Salvadoran applications for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) prior March 9, 2004, we do not anticipate assigning any additional staff to process I-485s until the latter half of this fiscal year . We do plan to significantly increase resource allocations to I-485 adjudications beginning April 2004
wait till April, there would be another reason coming up just like last year...
link:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?postid=662632#post662632
From the GAO report, the CIS expected I-485 processing time is a smoking 33 months!
link:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?threadid=109338
From http://www.immigration-law.com
Bush's promised 6-month processing time deadline is slowly approaching. Additionally, Bush's announced Temporary Worker Program raises doubt on the Bush's promised reduction of backlogs and processing times. Meanwhile, the BCIS processing backlog runs sky-high in reverse proportion to the Bush's path to the promised land. Sensing the serious state of the situation, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) submitted a report on January 5, 2004 to the Congress describing a terrible increase of processing delays and backlogs and a potential threat of further delays unless the Congress, as the oversight authority, directs the DHS and USCIS to study the funding requirement to deal with the backlog problem. The current ever-mounting backlog appears to be an embarassment to Bush who should keep his promise. For the detailed report of this news, please click here. For the 53-pdf-page GAO report, please click here.
Unconfirmed sources indicate that a lawsuite has been filed against the DHS for the mounting backlog of I-485 applications. The I-485 filers currently see no light at the end of tunnel even after two years of filing. Besides, I-140 immigrant worker petitions take much longer than six months. Worse yet, recent BCIS Memorandum stating that the 180-day employment change rule for the I-485 waiters will not be recognized unless the underlying I-140 petition is approved first de facto seriously minimizes and compromises the Congress' legislative intent of the AC 21 Act. The 140 petition adjudication delays create a tremendous hardship for the immigrants who cannot sustain the current employment because of the high unemployment rate and the poor economy. Unless something is done, the I-140 backlog will turn worse within this year as the Labor Department is scheduled to launch a new labor certification system in the late spring this year promising certification of most of the permanent labor certification applications in 21 days. This will flood the I-140 production unit within the USCIS. The H-1B petition and I-539 applications also experience tremendous delays, forcing the U.S. employers to file Premium Processing Request with the payment of $1,000 additional money. The backlog and delays do not end in employment-based proceedings. The family-based immigrant cases are centralized into the National Benefits Center and pending the processing of the green-card application, alien relatives must obtain employment card and travel document. Before the centralization, such EAD card was issued the same day in a large number of district offices and the travel documents had also been issued within a short period of time by the local offices. Now, the EAD and Travel Document issuing authority for the family-based immigration applicants are taken away from the local district offices. The National Benefits Center has been experiencing growing delays in processing and issuing EAD cards and Travel Documents for these applicants, taking months. The sons, daughters, husbands, wives, and parents of the U.S. citizens are home-bound and living in a hell for not being able to work and travel. Without EAD card, one cannot apply for the Social Security card and the Driver License. They are frustrated and depressed. What is going on?
Mr. President, you cannot have any immigration reform unless you learn to hear voices from illegal aliens as well as legal aliens who are suffering from the ailing immigration system. Your recently announced temporary worker legalization program can reform the system towards aggravation of the ailing immigration system unless you act swiftly to work out a solution to deal with the continuously mounting backlogs and processing delays which can lead to the disarray and collapse of the nation's immigration system, hurting millions of U.S. citizens and permanent residents and their foreigner relatives, and hurting the U.S. employers that need foreign work forces and the immigrants. We welcomed your temporary worker program announcement despite the serious flaws with the program that focuses on taking advantage of undocumented foreign work forces to fill certain types of works which so-called U.S. workers are reluctant to take because of the hard labor at low wages. Worse yet, these foreign workers are not promised for any permanent resident opportuniteis as a reward for their hard labor. Rather they will be used only for three years putting them in hard labor and in undesirable conditions for three years. After the three years, they will be left in the cold, unless they are lucky enough to hook a U.S. citizen spouse or other immigration opportunities which they should seek on their own. Otherwise, they will have to be kicked out of the country. We want to see an immigration reform that balances the interest of the nation and the interest of the immigrants contributing to the enrichment of the country in sectors including economy, culture, science, arts, defense, etc. You may call such move a compassionate reform. We also want to see an immigration reform with a vision rather than a fragmented reform which may or may not contribute to the improvement of the overall immigration system.
As we make progress in completing the older background checks, the processing time for I-485's will begin to improve. However, because of the competing need to adjudicate approximately 60,000 El Salvadoran applications for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) prior March 9, 2004, we do not anticipate assigning any additional staff to process I-485s until the latter half of this fiscal year . We do plan to significantly increase resource allocations to I-485 adjudications beginning April 2004
wait till April, there would be another reason coming up just like last year...
link:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?postid=662632#post662632
From the GAO report, the CIS expected I-485 processing time is a smoking 33 months!
link:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?threadid=109338
From http://www.immigration-law.com
Bush's promised 6-month processing time deadline is slowly approaching. Additionally, Bush's announced Temporary Worker Program raises doubt on the Bush's promised reduction of backlogs and processing times. Meanwhile, the BCIS processing backlog runs sky-high in reverse proportion to the Bush's path to the promised land. Sensing the serious state of the situation, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) submitted a report on January 5, 2004 to the Congress describing a terrible increase of processing delays and backlogs and a potential threat of further delays unless the Congress, as the oversight authority, directs the DHS and USCIS to study the funding requirement to deal with the backlog problem. The current ever-mounting backlog appears to be an embarassment to Bush who should keep his promise. For the detailed report of this news, please click here. For the 53-pdf-page GAO report, please click here.
Unconfirmed sources indicate that a lawsuite has been filed against the DHS for the mounting backlog of I-485 applications. The I-485 filers currently see no light at the end of tunnel even after two years of filing. Besides, I-140 immigrant worker petitions take much longer than six months. Worse yet, recent BCIS Memorandum stating that the 180-day employment change rule for the I-485 waiters will not be recognized unless the underlying I-140 petition is approved first de facto seriously minimizes and compromises the Congress' legislative intent of the AC 21 Act. The 140 petition adjudication delays create a tremendous hardship for the immigrants who cannot sustain the current employment because of the high unemployment rate and the poor economy. Unless something is done, the I-140 backlog will turn worse within this year as the Labor Department is scheduled to launch a new labor certification system in the late spring this year promising certification of most of the permanent labor certification applications in 21 days. This will flood the I-140 production unit within the USCIS. The H-1B petition and I-539 applications also experience tremendous delays, forcing the U.S. employers to file Premium Processing Request with the payment of $1,000 additional money. The backlog and delays do not end in employment-based proceedings. The family-based immigrant cases are centralized into the National Benefits Center and pending the processing of the green-card application, alien relatives must obtain employment card and travel document. Before the centralization, such EAD card was issued the same day in a large number of district offices and the travel documents had also been issued within a short period of time by the local offices. Now, the EAD and Travel Document issuing authority for the family-based immigration applicants are taken away from the local district offices. The National Benefits Center has been experiencing growing delays in processing and issuing EAD cards and Travel Documents for these applicants, taking months. The sons, daughters, husbands, wives, and parents of the U.S. citizens are home-bound and living in a hell for not being able to work and travel. Without EAD card, one cannot apply for the Social Security card and the Driver License. They are frustrated and depressed. What is going on?
Mr. President, you cannot have any immigration reform unless you learn to hear voices from illegal aliens as well as legal aliens who are suffering from the ailing immigration system. Your recently announced temporary worker legalization program can reform the system towards aggravation of the ailing immigration system unless you act swiftly to work out a solution to deal with the continuously mounting backlogs and processing delays which can lead to the disarray and collapse of the nation's immigration system, hurting millions of U.S. citizens and permanent residents and their foreigner relatives, and hurting the U.S. employers that need foreign work forces and the immigrants. We welcomed your temporary worker program announcement despite the serious flaws with the program that focuses on taking advantage of undocumented foreign work forces to fill certain types of works which so-called U.S. workers are reluctant to take because of the hard labor at low wages. Worse yet, these foreign workers are not promised for any permanent resident opportuniteis as a reward for their hard labor. Rather they will be used only for three years putting them in hard labor and in undesirable conditions for three years. After the three years, they will be left in the cold, unless they are lucky enough to hook a U.S. citizen spouse or other immigration opportunities which they should seek on their own. Otherwise, they will have to be kicked out of the country. We want to see an immigration reform that balances the interest of the nation and the interest of the immigrants contributing to the enrichment of the country in sectors including economy, culture, science, arts, defense, etc. You may call such move a compassionate reform. We also want to see an immigration reform with a vision rather than a fragmented reform which may or may not contribute to the improvement of the overall immigration system.