USCIS Transferring Family Cases to Balance Workload

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced at the end of August 2015 that certain family-based immigration cases will be moved from the Vermont Service Center (VSC) to the California Service Center (CSC). Such internal case transfers are fairly routine, and typically are to balance USCIS workloads.

Transfers Underway: Forms I-130 and I-751

The USCIS has begun transferring a number of pending relative petitions (I-130s) and petitions to remove conditions (I-751s) from the VSC to the CSC. Petitioners in these cases will be issued transfer notices by the USCIS, indicating transfer date and new location. The USCIS explains that the “…original receipt number will not change and this will not delay your case’s processing except for the additional time needed to transfer the file to the new location.”

Internal Notation is Not an Approval

The USCIS notes that the transfer notices for I-751 cases will include the notation “Case Type: CR189 Approved Removal on Conditions.” This notation references a pending I-751 and does not indicate an approval of the request to remove conditions. Further, such transfer notices may not contain the case receipt number.

Filing Locations for Forms Unchanged

As always, the transfer of cases is an internal matter, purely related to workload adjustments. This does not change the requirements for filing cases or the locations of initial filings. It is important to follow the instructions on the USCIS WebSite for proper filing addresses.

Conclusion

The USCIS commonly transfers files to improve workload allocation, so this is not a cause for concern. While files spend some time in the transfer process, overall the goal is to move the cases to a service center that has more resources available.

 

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Disclaimer: The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any specific or particular circumstance. It is not to be construed as legal advice nor presumed indefinitely up to date.