In an initiative to reduce the time it takes to process various form applications coupled with the anxiety that this generates among petitioners, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has piloted a new system that will reflect processing times within a two-week frame. This new process would allow them to collect relevant data and automate more accurate results.

Earlier USCIS would take more than six weeks to generate an approximate processing time, thereby increasing the uncertainties faced by petitioners. This new pilot will reduce time-lags as well as give more up-to-date information. Given that the new 2019 H1-B season is set to begin when applications for the non-immigrant visas will be accepted starting April 2, 2018, the rush and back-logs are just around the corner. USCIS hopes to mitigate this with the new process in place.

Having said that, this new process is being piloted only for four forms currently, namely –

• Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status;
• Form N-400, Application for Naturalization;
• Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card;
• Form I-751, Petition to Remove conditions on residence.

How It Works?

Once the petitioner enters in his specific form name and field office or service center, the system will generate a time range. This reflects how long it takes that specific service center to or field office to process cases from the date USCIS received it. The low end of the range depicts the duration taken to complete 50% of the cases while the higher end depicts the time to complete 93% of cases. This date range is updated on 15th of each month.

Another feature of the new program is that the high-end number is adjusted by 30% above current cycle times and is reflective of the time taken to complete the majority of the cases. If a specific case is pending longer than the time listed for the high-end of the range, the petitioner may create an online account on the USCIS website and create a service request to track status of cases outside normal processing times. 

If you are looking to apply for any of these forms there is information on the Green Card Process and Form I-751 on Path2usa. This new system will not only make it easier for petitioners to plan their cases but also eliminate lot of delays allowing them to begin an online inquiry process if need be.