Service Center Update : December 2003
Posted Dec 12, 2003

Of importance to MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers, are issues pertaining to Service Center operations as discussed in a mid-November 2003 teleconference between American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) representatives and officials from USCIS Headquarters. This information became available in early December 2003.

H1B Premium Processing / Cap

There is a possibility that premium processing of H1B cases will be suspended at some point for those H1B cases subject to the cap. At this time, however, there is no decision in that regard. Premium processing remains available for all H1B cases. As regular readers of MurthyDotCom and the MurthyBulletin are aware, the H1B cap is presently a hot issue. See our October 10, 2003 MurthyBulletin article, H1B Cap Much Earlier than Anticipated, available on MurthyDotCom. In an effort to get an approval before the cap is reached, many people are utilizing the premium processing procedure when filing H1B cases that are subject to the cap. If there is any change in the system, we will promptly advise our readers. For the time being, premium processing still appears to be the safest approach for H1B cases that will be subject to the H1B cap.

Duplicate Notices

The method for obtaining duplicate approval notices from the Service Centers is under review. The current procedure is to file an I-824, Application for Action on Approved Petition, and request a duplicate notice. The processing times for I-824s are quite slow, sometimes taking over a year. The process, therefore, is likely to change to allow for faster processing of the request for a duplicate, especially in instances where the Service Center never mailed the approval notice, or the employer, the attorney, or the applicant never received it.

The procedure for obtaining duplicate denial notices, Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs) from the Service Centers will remain the same. The current procedure for obtaining duplicates of these forms requires placing a call to the Customer Service Representatives at the 1-800 customer service number. They take referrals and transmit the request to the Service Centers. It is likely that the requests for duplicate approval notices will soon be handled in a similar manner.

We are pleased to share this information and to update MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers on these potentially important changes that may impact their cases.