Addressing Employment-Based Visa Wait Times

There have been a lot of comments and questions received from readers about employment-based petitions and related applications for adjustment to lawful permanent residence.

This is a complicated subject, so I want to provide a little background. Becoming a permanent resident based on employment can require a number of steps, including obtaining a labor certification from the Department of Labor, receiving approval on a petition for alien worker from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (Form I-140) and obtaining an immigrant visa from the Department of State or being granted adjustment of status from USCIS. In addition, by law there are numerical limits on the number of people who can immigrate to the U.S. each year in most categories. You can see a more detailed explanation about the employment-based visa application process online.

Some readers have asked about the volume of employment applications and delays that have occurred in employment-based visa petition and adjustment application processing in late 2007 and early 2008. There were a number of factors that affected USCIS' handling of these cases during that time. Employers filed more than 234,000 petitions to sponsor foreign workers (Form I-140) as the Department of Labor cleared a large backlog of labor certification applications and implemented new regulations. Adjustment-of-status application filings also soared to nearly 300,000. We attribute the increase in adjustment application filings to a couple things. First, customers' anticipation of USCIS' filing fee increase in July 2007. Second, a unique opportunity for workers and their families to file adjustment applications based on the visa availability date announced in the July 2007 Immigrant Visa Bulletin. Many of these availability dates have since reverted, creating a backlog of adjustment applications that cannot be adjudicated until a visa becomes available.

A few months ago, a customer indicated his frustration that while he can monitor the Visa Bulletin to see how it moves month to month, he still has no idea how many people are waiting in line with pending adjustment applications or how long it may be before USCIS can process and approve his application. We know this customer is not alone! In response to that customer's request, we are working to make this information available on our Web site.

I understand the importance of becoming a permanent resident. I also recognize workers may rightly want to take advantage of the limited provisions in current law that allow certain applicants to change employers without affecting their ability to adjust status. As a result, USCIS has taken the following steps:

• USCIS has increased the emphasis on processing employment-based petitions. Our goal is to complete adjudication on the older I-140 petitions and to process newer petitions within our targeted processing time of four months. We are making progress toward this goal and anticipate reaching this goal by the end of September 2009.
• USCIS is issuing employment authorization documents valid for two years, as needed.
• USCIS is working with the State Department to make sure we use every available visa number. In 2007, we had more visas available in the family-based categories than were needed, so as permitted by law, we transferred those available family-based visas for use in the employment-based application process.

I recognize that this is a difficult and complex situation and USCIS is working hard to make improvements and to increase transparency in our processes.

Mike Aytes
Acting Deputy Director, USCIS

USCIS and FBI Achieve Interim Backlog Elimination Goals

We’ve met another benchmark in our efforts to eliminate the FBI Name Check backlog.

As of mid-February, USCIS and the FBI had completed all name checks that were pending for more than six months. In doing so, we beat our publicly stated goal by almost two full weeks. With the milestone’s completion, the FBI and USCIS have met or exceeded the first six milestones outlined last summer.

And that might not be the most exciting news. We’re on track to meet our May 31 milestone of completing name check requests pending longer than 90 days. By the end of June, the FBI will complete 98-percent of USCIS name check requests within 30 days and process the remaining two percent within 90 days.

Let me put that into perspective. At the beginning of November 2007, there were nearly 350,000 pending name check requests. Of that total, more than 54,000 had been pending for more than two years. Another 55,000 had been pending for at least a year. Today, there’s a grand total of 6,756 pending name check requests. And of that number, not one has been pending for more than six months. In fact as of that February 17 snapshot, the FBI was completing 99.2 percent of all requests in less than 30 days.

The results speak for themselves. The effective elimination of the name check backlog means that USCIS can make more timely decisions about immigration applications and petitions. That includes cases with derogatory information and those that are otherwise approvable. In both the present and the future, USCIS and the FBI will continue to focus on sustaining the rigorous and efficient screening of each name check request. Our joint attention to eliminating the name check backlog will ensure we reward deserving, eligible applicants with benefits like U.S. citizenship and permanent residency in a more timely manner.

Mike Aytes Acting Deputy Director
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Uncommon Valor

On Friday, February 27, I had the distinct privilege of participating in a Naturalization Ceremony at the Washington District Office in Fairfax, Va. Among the ceremony's 30 candidates was a young man with an inspiring story that reminds us of the importance of our work at USCIS and the priceless value of the life and liberties we cherish as Americans.

Marine Lance Corporal Jose Gasca, a native of Mexico, served in Iraq with the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. Lance Corporal Gasca lost both his legs to an improvised explosive device during combat operations last September. He's currently undergoing rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he is learning to walk once again.

When Lance Corporal Gasca, with his wife and young son by his side, raised his right hand to take the Oath of Allegiance, he joined a long line of naturalized American heroes who served and sacrificed on behalf of our nation before becoming American citizens. There are few words I can use to describe the overwhelming sense of appreciation and admiration I have for men and women like Lance Corporal Gasca. As an agency, we best express that gratitude by completing military naturalization cases as quickly as possible.

USCIS employees who work with immigrant service members consider this responsibility both a privilege and an honor. In partnership with the Department of Defense, we do all we can to ensure that as many military applications as possible are processed and completed before these brave men and women are deployed to combat zones overseas.

In total, USCIS naturalized more than one million citizens during fiscal year 2008 and we've naturalized more than 45,000 U.S. service members since September 2001. Each new American has made a personal sacrifice to become part of our American fabric. None, however, have made more striking sacrifices than Jose Gasca and his fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who voluntarily took up arms to defend rights and liberties they had yet to secure for themselves or their families.

Mike Aytes, Acting Deputy Director
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services