August 20, 2007

My Immigration Application was Filed Two Months Ago, Why Don't I Have a Receipt from USCIS?

It used to be that when a petition was filed, we could comfortably predict and expect receipt confirmation from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") within a two week timeframe, those were the good old days. With the whole visa bulletin and adjustment of status fiasco that resulted from the Department of State's miscalculations, everyone is now drastically behind on everything, and the government is leading the line with more than just the usual backlogs, now they have front logs too. On August 10, 2007, USCIS issued an update on current receipting times at the Service centers in California, Nebraska, Texas and Vermont. The update notes that the USCIS has experienced an extraordinary increase in the volume of petitions filed. This increase in volume has resulted in a front log in the mail room for all types of cases awaiting data entry. The August 17th notice [link to attachment] from USCIS provides a general overview of where the Service stands in terms of the front log in their mail room. In particular it is interesting to note that the Nebraska Service Center is only now processing I-485 Adjustment of Status Petitions they received in the mailroom on July 1, 2007 and the Texas Service Center is processing ones received on June 28, 2007. And the even more interesting news is that these dates have actually moved backwards; on August 3rd the USCIS issued a similar notice and the Nebraska Service Center was then reporting July 11, 2007 as the date for the I-485 processing in their mailroom. And so with this most recent update , we all eagerly await for a sign from above, yet we would be happy with one just from USCIS.

On a more serious note, for those of you who have filed your I-485 and patiently wait for tangible confirmation in the form of an I-797 receipt notice...we want to remind you how important that document is for international travel. Based on current regulations we recommend that all applicants, regardless of their current non-immigrant visa status, wait for the USCIS I-797 receipt notice prior to traveling outside of the U.S. While USCIS has made statements that an individual who has filed an I-485 may travel before the receipt is issued, there is no guarantee and you do risk a problem at entry or abandonment of the I-1485 filing which will require re-filing whenever the priority date becomes current again (who knows when that will be). The regulations state: "travel outside of the United States by an applicant for adjustment of status . . . and who is in lawful H-1 or L-1 status shall not be deemed an abandonment of the application if, upon returning to this country, the alien remains eligible for H or L status, is coming to resume employment with the same employer for whom he or she had previously been authorized to work as an H-1 or L-1 nonimmigrant, and, is in possession of a valid H or L visa (if required) and the original I-797 receipt notice for the application for adjustment of status." So it appears that there is a conflict between the regulations and USCIS guidance that comes in the form of memos and FAQs. As always, to be on the safe side, we caution our clients to be conservative and avoid travel until the notice is in hand.