Why is my Case Pending at USCIS Beyond the Reported Processing Date? Posted Oct 14, 2005  ©MurthyDotCom At The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, we have been receiving many calls and questions that reflect confusion between USCIS Service Center case processing times and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin [all available from MurthyDotCom's Processing Times page]. Many people are upset that their I-485, Application for Adjustment of Status, cases are pending well beyond the USCIS's stated processing times. The problem is that, without an available visa number, the cases cannot be approved. The availability of a visa number is indicated in the DOS Visa Bulletin. ©MurthyDotCom Many articles about retrogression and unavailability of visa numbers can be found at MurthyDotCom. Put simply, one of the limited visa numbers allocated each year must be available in order to approve an I-485. Those with I-485s pending will not receive approval without the immediate availability of visa numbers. Thus, while the USCIS can review the cases, issue Requests for Evidence, and otherwise process the cases, they cannot be approved by the USCIS without the visa numbers. The processing dates reflect the cases that are under review. ©MurthyDotCom As an analogy, think of the pending I-485s as bills to be paid. If, for example, one had $10,000 due in bills, but only $1,000 in the bank, it would be impossible to pay all the bills at one time. The bills could be reviewed, disputed, or approved for later payment. There may be enough money to pay all the bills that were sent before a certain date. The DOS Visa Bulletin cutoff dates tell the USCIS which case priority dates have visa numbers available. In our bill analogy, it is similar to saying that there is enough money to pay, for example, all bills incurred before a certain point in time. The rest have to wait until there is more money in the account, even if they have been reviewed and approved for payment. ©MurthyDotCom So, the USCIS processing dates will show that the USCIS is moving along with processing cases for those foreign nationals who have current visa numbers. For those persons from countries that are suffering backlogs or retrogression, even if the date has passed, the USCIS cannot approve those cases until the priority dates show as current in the DOS Visa Bulletin. © 2005 The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. All Rights Reserved
	Disclaimer : The information provided at this site is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or under all circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Sheela Murthy or establish an attorney-client relationship. Copyright : Documents from this site may be printed for personal use as long as the copyright notices are included on the print-outs and the documents are not modified or altered.