USCIS processing times have almost doubled over the past few years.
Sometimes it takes over 2 years for the agency to complete the processing of an I-485.
Here are some of the reasons why this is happening:
1. In 2017, USCIS announced that persons seeking to adjust their status through employer sponsorship (aka "merit-based immigrants") would, for the first time in over 20 years, be subject to in-person interviews at District Offices. Since most employment-based (EB) immigrants adjust their status in the U.S. as opposed to most persons in the family-based preference categories, this greatly increased I-485 backlogs.
2. Since most EB applications for adjustment of status have been adjudicated in USCIS's Service Centers for decades, officers at District Offices often lack experience in EB immigration. Many professionals receive RFEs, NOIDs and denials, sometimes based on USCIS errors. Recently, we assisted an IT professional in overcoming a NOID when the officer clearly did not understand how the 180-day portability rule worked
3. The Administration encouraged officers to look for reasons to deny I-485s and other benefits.
In a news alert published in 2019, USCIS stated:
"USCIS remains committed to adjudicating applications, petitions, and requests for immigration benefits as effectively and efficiently as possible in accordance with all applicable laws, policies, and regulations while securing the integrity of the immigration system."
We appreciate USCIS's concern, yet we are not seeing significant improvements in processing times, especially for persons applying for adjustment of status.
