Murthy Takes Action : There is Hope for Texas Service Center
Posted Feb 20, 2004

Everyone involved with any aspect of the immigration process knows that processing times for most cases at the various Service Centers range from slow to motionless. While cases will usually work their way through the process eventually, for many folks things have gone beyond all reason at the Texas Service Center (TSC). In particular, I-485 processing has seemingly ground to a halt. For that reason, in mid-2003 we wrote all 150 legislators with districts within the jurisdiction of the Texas Service Center. See our April 11, 2003 MurthyBulletin article, Murthy Takes Action: Seeking Funding for TSC, available on MurthyDotCom. We have now received a response, so perhaps there is hope.

Feb 2004 Response to our Earlier Letter

We received a call from the office of a congressperson who is a member of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims. The Representative responded to our letter and advised us that there will be a congressional hearing in March 2004 on the TSC backlog issue. The witnesses are to include the Director of the Texas Service Center. One of the goals of the hearing is to ascertain what steps are necessary to reduce the backlog to a six month level. The purpose of gathering this information seemingly is to draft legislation that would provide funding towards backlog reduction.

We are very excited about this positive development. We will remain in contact with the Subcommittee on this matter and provide any appropriate input. We will advise MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers as the hearings are scheduled and any action is taken.

TSC Case Approval – Random or a Trend?

For those who may be wondering about our current experience with I-485s at the TSC, we were very pleasantly surprised by an I-485 approval on February 5, 2004. The case had been filed two and a half years earlier, on August 21, 2001. This was rather unusual, as despite the significant number of I-485 cases The Law Office of Sheela Murthy has filed with the TSC, we had not received any decisions on I-485s in months. It is not clear if this one case was an isolated incident or the start of a trend.

Attorney Murthy Testifies before MD General Assembly

Attorney Murthy also continues to work for positive immigration reform at the state level. She will testify before a Sub-Committee of the Maryland Legislature later in February 2004 to combat four proposed state laws that would negatively impact immigrants. Examples of the unfavorable bills introduced include vesting local law enforcement with immigration functions, delaying or denying drivers' licenses to those seeking immigration benefits, and confiscating the car of anyone who lends an automobile to a family member or friend who does not have valid legal immigration status. Even many people who have studied immigration laws for years are unable to distinguish who is legally entitled to live and work in the U.S. It would not be prudent to vest such complex functions on local law enforcement, motor vehicle clerks, and even laypeople.

Our Goal is Not Just to Help Individuals, but to Change Our Laws!

Just as we at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy strive to help each individual client to have the best possible outcome in his/her immigration case, we will continue to work at both the federal and state levels for the enactment of laws that will provide immigrants and intending immigrants with the most favorable opportunities available. We will continue to challenge anti-immigration bills and lobby for stronger pro-immigration measures, like faster processing of cases and recognition of the contributions of immigrants to our society.