U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received communications from the public expressing concerns regarding extended processing times for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, filed by U.S. citizens for their eligible immediate relatives. USCIS provides information below in response to the concerns expressed.
USCIS is ever-mindful of the need to process a U.S. citizen’s immediate relative Form I-130 carefully and expeditiously. The need is defined by the immigration system’s goal of preserving family unity. It is for this fundamental reason that USCIS has been focused on addressing delays in the processing of these Forms I-130 for several months.
Through concerted efforts, USCIS is now adjudicating U.S. citizens’ immediate relative Forms I-130 filed as early as February 2013. This is a significant step forward, as previously published guidance reflected the processing of these Forms I-130 filed in October 2012. Furthermore, USCIS expects the processing of these Forms I-130 to be increasingly timely in the ensuing weeks, culminating in the return to an average processing time of five months for these Forms I-130 by May 2014.
USCIS has focused on these Forms I-130 for the very reason that affected members of the public have expressed their concerns; the importance of family unity. Last month, in an effort to expedite the adjudication of these cases, USCIS began transferring stand-alone Forms I-130 filed by U.S. citizens for their immediate relatives from USCIS’s National Benefits Center to its Nebraska, Texas, and California Service Centers. This shift improves USCIS’s ability to adjudicate the cases in a timely manner.
Reshared post from +Loke Walsh Immigration Law
USCIS Transfers Immediate Relative Petitions from NBC to Service Centers
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) begins transferring Immediate Relative Petitions (Form I-130) from National Benefits Center (NBC) to Service Centers in order to balance overall workload, according to its latest news release.
Applicants, whose cases are transferred, will be notified by USCIS as to the date of transfer and the service center that will continue processing the case (Nebraska, Texas, or California Service Center).
UPDATE
Here's an updated link due to USCIS' recent website redesign: http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/workload-transfer-national-benefits-center-service-centers
USCIS – Workload Transfer from National Benefits Center to Service Centers
Workload Transfer from National Benefits Center to Service Centers. USCIS recently began transferring some casework from the National Benefits Center to the Nebraska, Texas and California Service Centers to balance overall operational workload. The affected casework includes the following form: …
