Update on Long-Pending I-130 Petitions

After the significant forward movement in many of the family-based preference categories in the fall, the government has received a significant number of I-130 family-based immigrant petitions in a number of preference categories.  In an effort to process these pending I-130 petition in a more efficient manner, in November 2010, USCIS transferred approximately 36,000 I-130 petitions from their California Service Center to their Texas Service Center.   USCIS hoped that this redistribution of work would result in more timely adjudication of these petitions.

However, according to USCIS, due to a number of unforeseen circumstances at their Texas Service Center, many of these cases have not been processed and are beyond the estimated processing times.   On Feb. 7, 2011, USCIS announced a rapid response plan to expedite the adjudication of these  petitions.   Ironically, the rapid response plan has been to transfer a “large number of these Immediate Relative petitions back to [their] California Service Center to take advantage of resources currently available”.     USCIS has indicated that petitioners will see an action such as an approval, denial or a Request for Evidence (RFE) on their case from the California or Texas Service Centers by the end of  February.

Also, as of February 14, 2011, USCIS provided an update on the processing status of these 36,000 cases:  10,264 have been approved; 55 have been denied; 4,137 have been issued a request for evidence or notice of intent to deny; and 408 have been referred to a local USCIS office for interview.   Based on these numbers, it seems that USCIS is less than halfway through reviewing these 36,000 I-130 petitions and, while we remain optimistic, we are not sure if they will be able to initially review every single one of the remaining approximately 20,000 by the end of February.

We will continue to monitor developments and updates from USCIS.  If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter or contact us with any questions or comments.