USCIS is taking steps to reduce the backlog of 9.5 million cases and processing delays, work permits, asylum, green cards, U.S. citizenship
MARCH 29, 2022
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced three initiatives aimed at reducing a multimillion-case backlog of immigration applications that has hampered the US government’s capacity to process them quickly.
USCIS processes applications for work permits, asylum, green cards, U.S. citizenship, and other immigration benefits, such as the H-1B visa program for highly talented foreign workers and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy for undocumented immigrants who arrived as children.
The agency intends to increase the number of applicants who can pay additional fees to have their immigration petitions adjudicated more quickly, propose a rule to provide relief to immigrants waiting for work permit renewals, and set processing time goals, according to the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the measures ahead of a formal announcement.
The growing case backlog has dramatically increased application processing delays, trapping many immigrants — from asylum seekers and green card applicants to would-be citizens — in a months- or years-long legal limbo that could result in them losing their jobs, driver’s licenses, and other sources of income.
According to agency data, USCIS was reviewing more than 9.5 million pending applications as of February, a 66 percent increase over the end of fiscal year 2019.
“USCIS remains committed to providing fast and fair decisions to all of our customers,” said USCIS Director Ur Jaddou on Tuesday. “Every application we judge symbolizes immigrants’ and their families’ ambitions and dreams, as well as their vital immediate requirements, such as financial stability and humanitarian protection.”
A rule to increase “premium processing,” which lets qualified applicants to pay $2,500 extra to have their applications examined more quickly, is one of USCIS’s new measures. Currently, the service is only available for a restricted number of applications, such as H-1B petitions and some employment-based green card applications.
Premium processing will be extended to more employment-based green card applications, all work permit petitions, and temporary immigration status extension requests under the regulation, which will take effect in 60 days and allow applicants to pay $2,500 to have their cases evaluated within 45 days.
Premium processing will begin with work-based green card petitions for multinational executives or managers, as well as professionals with advanced degrees or “exceptional ability,” who are seeking a waiver that allows them to immigrate to the United States without having a job offer, as is usually required.
Another rule being announced by USCIS will provide temporary assistance to immigrants plagued by work authorization delays by extending the duration of automatic work permit extensions for those who file for a renewal.
Most work permit holders who file for renewals are currently eligible for an automatic 180-day extension if their work authorization expires. However, many immigrants have to wait far longer for their work permits to be renewed, sometimes up to ten months.
The third option is for USCIS to hire more caseworkers and improve processing technology in order to meet new application adjudication timelines, which it hopes to reach by September 2023. According to USCIS data, the agency currently has thousands of job openings.
Caseworkers will be told to try to process requests for temporary work visas, such as H-1B and H-2A visas for agricultural workers, within two months. Within three months, requests for work permits, travel papers, and temporary status renewals or adjustments should be assessed.
Other applications, such as those for U.S. citizenship, DACA renewals, and green card requests for immigrants sponsored by U.S. family members or employers, should be adjudicated within six months, according to the new processing criteria.
“It’s really rare for the head of USCIS to declare to the entire agency, to the entire staff, ‘Our processing times are too long, and it’s preventing us from delivering on our purpose,'” the USCIS source said.
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