Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and policies of the prior US administration, case backlog and processing times at USCIS have increased significantly. In late March, USCIS announced several new initiatives to increase overall efficiency and reduce backlogs.

  • Reduce backlogs 

USCIS is setting internal goals to reduce massive backlogs. To help achieve its goals by the end of this year, USCIS will increase staffing and improve technology. USCIS expects that as more cases are processed and backlogs reduce, more applicants and petitioners will receive decisions quickly. 

  • Expand Premium Processing 

Premium processing, which allows certain petitions to be expedited, is currently available only to limited non-immigrant and immigrant petitions such as H-1B or EB-1.

USCIS has now expanded the availability of premium processing to additional petitions including applications to extend or change nonimmigrant status.  Now non-immigrants (tourists, exchange students, family/dependents of certain visa holders, etc.) can avail of the option of premium processing. Premium processing is also available for applications for employment authorization This means a person who has applied for employment authorization can receive his or her employment authorization documents in a much shorter time. 

  • Increase access to Employment Authorization Document (EAD)

In recent months, USCIS has been streamlining the process for EAD by extending validity periods for certain types of EADs and providing expedited EAD renewals for healthcare and childcare workers. Building on this progress, USCIS will now ensure that certain EAD-holders will not lose their work authorization status while their applications are pending.

With these new initiatives, USCIS expects that it will not only be able to increase organization efficiency, but that many immigrants can also expect shorter wait times.

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Thanks,

Bhatta Law & Associates team