4 Ways to Speed Up your Immigration Case With USCIS

Author: Rohit Srinivasa, Esq. U.S. Immigration Lawyer

4 Ways to Speed Up Your Immigration Case with USCIS

OVERVIEW
    It can always be a challenge to speed up your case with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), especially with longer 485 green card processing time, but there are steps you can take to move your case forward.  In recent times, we are seeing longer wait times to process applications.

    At Ashoori Law, we want to make sure that our clients know how they can avoid delays and speed up their case with USCIS.   In this article, we will discuss four ways in which you can do this.

    If, you have any questions about an immigration application that you need to file, we welcome you to contact us at Ashoori Law.  Feel free to call us at +1-818-741-1117 or you may schedule a free consultation by clicking this link.

    Include All the Necessary Documents

    When dealing with the USCIS, it is very important to ensure that your application has all the necessary documents. If all these documents are not included, then USCIS can send you a Request for Evidence, also known as an RFE.

    An RFE can delay your case, and these delays can last weeks or months. To help avoid an RFE, it is necessary that you include all relevant documents that are pertinent to your case.

    Premium Processing

    Premium Processing is a tool to speed up USCIS’s review of your case with the payment of an extra fee. If this fee is paid, USCIS will process your case in 15 days.

    Please note that Premium Processing is not available for every type of case. Thus, it is important to ensure that your case is eligible for Premium Processing.

    You can also enable Premium Processing after you file your case. So, let us say you have already filed your case and you want to speed up USCIS processing by requesting Premium Processing. You can choose to pay the extra fee for Premium Processing after you’ve filed your case. This is called a Premium Processing upgrade.

    The link below from USCIS provides more information about Premium Processing.

    https://www.uscis.gov/i-907

    USCIS Service Request

    A service request is a tool that allows you to submit a formal inquiry regarding the status of your immigration case. Instructions for submitting a service request are available through USCIS e-Request.

    You may submit a service request with USCIS only if your case has been pending longer than normal processing times. Current processing times for different types of cases are available on the USCIS Processing Times page.

    For example, the current petition for alien relative processing time for a US Citizen filing an I-130 for a spouse at the California Service center may be between 11 and 14.5 months. Thus, you may make a Service Request with USCIS only after 14.5 months. Please ensure that you check the link above before making a Service Request, or USCIS will deny your Service Request stating that it is within normal processing time.

    A Service Request with USCIS is also sometimes called a Case Inquiry. A successful Service Request may help speed up case processing with USCIS.

    USCIS Case Expedite Request

    An expedite request with USCIS may not be familiar to many of you, but it is something that can be very effective in speeding up case processing. An Expedite Request is different from the Service Request we talked about in the previous section.

    USCIS has a specific procedure for submitting an expedite request. Additional information on how to make an expedite request is available on the USCIS Expedite Requests page.

    USCIS approves Expedite Requests on a case by case basis. Therefore, once you submit an Expedite Request, USCIS will review the Expedite Request and either approve or deny the request.

    USCIS requires supporting documentation to make an Expedite Request. In the next section we will talk about some of the reasons you may make an Expedite Request with USCIS.

    If Premium Processing exists for your case type, you may not make an Expedite Request. You must make a request for Premium Processing as discussed in the Premium Processing section above. If Premium Processing does not exist for your case type you may make an Expedite Request.

    4 Reasons to Expedite your Case

    In the previous section, we talked about how one can expedite their case processing. In this section, we speak to why someone can expedite their case with USCIS.

    Severe Financial Loss

    The first reason you may make an Expedite Request is if a person or a business hiring the person would suffer severe financial loss. There must be substantial and irreparable financial harm and supporting documentation must be provided to showcase why the person or business would face such financial loss.

    Humanitarian Emergency

    The second reason you may make an Expedite Request is if there is a humanitarian emergency that is affecting you. You would need to support this with documentation as well.

    Government Interest

    The third reason you may make the Expedite Request is if there is a Government Interest that would be affected if your case is not sped up. It could be that you need to begin working immediately on a time sensitive project that is in the interest of the Government.

    USCIS Error

    The last reason you may make an Expedite Request is if USCIS made an error in its processing of your case.

    Have a Seasoned Attorney from Ashoori Law Help You with Your Immigration Case

    Given that the USCIS is taking longer than usual in processing cases, you can benefit with the help of a qualified immigration attorney.

    My name is Rohit Srinivasa and I’m a U.S. immigration lawyer and Of Counsel at Ashoori Law. As an immigration lawyer, I help families, professionals, investors, and entrepreneurs get visas, green cards, and citizenship to the United States.  If you have any questions, feel free to schedule a free consultation by clicking this link.

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