CSC : Case Delays Due to Processing Priorities
Posted Feb 07, 2003

We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy are frequently asked by our clients, as well as by those on the MurthyChat and MurthyForum, "Why does my case take so long to process at INS?" There are many possible causes, but often it is due to the INS' occasional need to shift personnel, referred to as "resources" in INS parlance, from one section to another in order to address a mandated deadline or other urgency. This is currently the situation at the California Service Center (CSC).

At the end of January 2003, the CSC disclosed that they have shifted many of their adjudications personnel to I-765 Applications filed by El Salvadorian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicants. With a deadline of March 9, 2003 to adjudicate these cases, they will be top priority until that time. Given this shifting of priorities, it can be expected that some of the processing times for other types of filings will suffer further backlogs.

The Vermont Service Center made a similar announcement, which is covered in our article, VSC Update : January 21, 2003, also published in this week's MurthyBulletin.

Although, at the time of this writing, the other service centers have not made comparable announcements, it is likely that they will similarly adjust to meet the deadline. More information on the El Salvadorian TPS program is available on the INS WebSite.