Law Office of Bonnie Stern Wasser
—Bringing People Together—
How Long Will My Case Take?
- Processing Times
- US Immigration & Citizenship Services (USCIS)
- US Department of Labor (USDOL)
- US Department of State (USDOS)
- Reasons for Delays (article)
Processing Times
The US Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS)
The US Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) within The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now posts the processing times for benefits applications filed with the agency. You will need to know whether your case is filed at a regional service center or at a local district office and the application type (form number) to determine processing times. USCIS also enables you to plug in your specific receipt number for status on your case (you will need your case number - either an A# or a service center number found on your fee receipt). But, beware that data is often missing or incorrect. The following are links to USCIS:
- Regional Service Centers and District Offices processing times by application type**
- Individual Case Status**
The US Department of Labor (USDOL)
The US Department of Labor (USDOL) processes labor certifications for permanent residence and H-2B visas as well as labor condition applications for H-1B and H-3 visas. The states used to be involved in initial labor certification processing until March 28, 2005. There have been some major changes to the labor certificate processing system. Cases filed at a State Employment or Workforce Agency, or if transferred to a State regional labor certifying agency before March 28, were subsequently sent either to a Dallas or Philadelphia Backlog Processing Center. There is currently no easy way to know where your case might be in this situation until you receive correspondence from either Dallas or Philadelphia. You should know when and where your case was filed initially.
Since March 28, 2005, newly filed labor certification applications are being filed electronically or by mail through the new labor certification system called PERM. You may have a receipt by now. A system for tracking these cases is done electronically by email through the employer's account with DOL.
The Department of State (USDOS)
The US Department of State is responsible for each of the US Embassies and consulates abroad that process visa applications. Estimated processing times for visa issuance can be found on their specific embassy or consulate website. The monthly Visa Bulletin published by the US Department of State lists the family and employment based permanent visa categories subject to a quota by country, category and priority date (place in line in the quota system) for that month. The quota must be "current" for an immigrant visa to issue or in order to file for adjustment of status to permanent resident in the USA.
- US Embassy and Consular visa wait times
- Monthly updates on the immigration quota for permanent resident categories (Visa Bulletin)
**Processing times given refer to cases being "worked on" or "in process". The dates provided do not necessarily mean that cases have been completed. There is also at least a 14 day lag time between final adjudication and notices being received in the mail.
Updated 1/10/2007
