Key Processing Issues Discussed with INS Officials
Posted Jul 14, 2000

From time to time in the MurthyBulletin, we highlight important issues addressed in meetings between representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and governmental agencies responsible for implementing the nation's immigration laws, such as the INS, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of State. On June 29, 2000,AILA attorneys held a teleconference with officials at INS headquarters and discussed several processing issues of interest to our readers.

I-140 Processing Delays :

One major concern is the processing time for Form I-140, the employment-based immigrant visa petition. Current processing times are longer than ever, with cases commonly taking as long as 14 months. This unprecedented delay can pose problems for persons reaching the end of their maximum stay in H or L status. Many persons are obliged to leave the country because they are still awaiting I-140 approval when their nonimmigrant status expires.

Most Service Centers have not considered the limit on H or L status as aground to expedite an I-140. AILA has urged the INS to develop an action-plan to expedite such I-140 cases. In response, INS stated that they are working to solve the underlying problem by reducing the I-140 processing times. INS Headquarters has set a goal of 90 days for processing I-140s and has directed the Service Centers to submit action plans to achieve this goal by the end of the fiscal year (i.e., September 30, 2000). If cases can be processed within the 90-day timeframe, then the expedite plan would not be needed.

Excessive Requests for Additional Evidence :

Many attorneys, through AILA, have submitted examples of unnecessary or unduly burdensome INS Requests for Evidence (RFEs). The INS will issue an RFE on a pending case to request additional information when the examiners believe that the information submitted is insufficient for an approval ofthe case. Obviously, RFEs are necessary in some cases. Yet attorneys have reported an unwarranted increase in the number of RFEs issued, and a broadening of their complexity and scope. In some recent cases, RFEs have presented mere recitations of the law with no specific questions.

INS Headquarters indicated in the teleconference that they were about to issue Standard Operating Procedures to ensure some consistency in the handling of cases. It is expected that the clearer guidelines will enable INS examiners to issue fewer unnecessary RFEs.

H1B Quota Cut-Off :

INS officials declined to provide the cut-off date for H1B cases to be processed within current fiscal year approvals, with a starting date of earlier than October 1, 2000. So it is still not possible to indicate a definite date, or to state that cases received after that particular date would be processed for the next fiscal year, with October 1 start dates. When updates are available from INS on this issue, we will pass that information along to readers of the MurthyBulletin.

New H Supplement Form :

The new H Supplement, discussed in the June 29, 2000 edition of the MurthyBulletin, is scheduled to go into effect from October 2000. The controversial subject of the beneficiary’s signature will be discussed in AILA's next conference call with INS headquarters.