July 20, 2004

Processing of I-130 Petitions

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service Bureau (USCIS) has announced that it will change the processing of Petitions for Alien Relatives, filed on Form I-130. Currently, petitions are processed in the order they are received. Effective immediately, USCIS will process petitions only as a visa number becomes available or within six months of filing if a visa number is immediately available upon filing (for spouses or parents of US citizens, for example). Accordingly, for pending petitions the estimated processing time on I-130 receipt notices will no longer be accurate as processing times will now be determined based not upon date of receipt but instead upon visa availability. Petitioners are encouraged to file for qualifying relatives as soon as they are eligible to do so in order to establish a priority date, even if the petition will not be processed for some time.