USCIS processing stats.
Why in gods name does the process of getting a fiance visa take so long? Well lets look at some numbers.
USCIS Stat page
1st up. there are approximately 3 million pending claims for immigration to the US as of Sept 05. Approvals per month ranges between 400k and 600k. Received per month running a similar gamut. The inital brunt of this log is run through 4 processing centers. Texas, Nebraska, California, and Vermont. So evenly distributed this means the centers are processing somewhere between 100k and 150k forms a month. At that rate if you just worked on the back log it would take... about 6 months to work through 3 million cases. Surprise Surprise, that is about how long we expect it to take to get our K1. Its not exactly that simple of course. There are some 56 different visas and ascociated paperwork that these centers are dealing with. Some have backlogs dating back to '99. Yes you heard right. More than 5 years ago. The shortest are 2-3 months.
The thing that amazes me is that we have allowed this backlog to form. It isn't like the time dealy is so that they can take more time and be sure that the cases they are passing through are more closely looked at. Nope. In fact it looks like all things considered they can keep up with the monthly influx of requests. Why then is it that a 3 million case (down from 6 million not to long ago) back log has been allowed to form ? Well namely because the INS was rolled into homeland security. During the Transistion the backlog soared and we are only now getting on top of it. This means the immigration system is working in overdrive not to scrutinize people but to catch up on its to do list.
In the meantime, the severe delays in processing due to the backlog have caused a number of 'breaks' in the process. For one, a K1 visa requires a filing for change of status. The change of status is a detail that simply notes the fact that you did indeed get married and issues you your conditional green card. When you get married your K1 visa essentially is no longer valid. As envisioned, the time to file change of status should be relatively quick as there is no provision for the gap created in legal status from the time you are married until the change of Status is processed and your green card issued. However, due to the backlog, Change of Status is currently taking some 6 months to process. This creates a gap in your legal status in the US where you are not covered by anything other than an understanding that your change of status for permanent residence is pending. Why is this an issue? Two reasons. Right to enter the US. Right to Work in the US. Some might say that to avoid the right to enter the US you simply shouldn't travel. Well that is certainly a simple solution. However, is it not reasonable to assume that an international couple might be pre-disposed to a need to travel internationally? Weddings, Deaths, Celebrations etc are events in ones family that most people think nothing of going to. Yet for an interinational couple such events often require international travel. In the intervening period waiting for the PRC this is not an easy thing to do. The solution ? File more paperwork for advance parole. Similarly for the right to work you have to file for an EAD (employment authorization document) which takes ~90 days to process.
So let me get this straight. The reason for the problem is a backlog in the paper work. So in the meantime we are going to have you file MORE paperwork to deal with the delay? This folks, is what is known as throwing gasoline on a fire. You do not fix a paperwork backlog problem by requiring more paperwork to fill in the gaps. To make it even worse, they KNOW that the interim paperwork has to be on a shorter fuse so it gets priority, which in turn makes the backlog take even longer which only increases the need for the interim paperwork (EAD and Advance Parole).
Why not simply grant permanent residence status based either on an issued PRC or in its stead a marriage based visa (k1 or k3) along with a valid marriage certificate? This way the gaps caused by the backlog are handled without more paperwork in a way that makes sense. Suddenly the EAD and Advance Parole submissions for marriage based visa applicants dissapears and actually lowers the workload, rather than increasing it.
USCIS Stat page
1st up. there are approximately 3 million pending claims for immigration to the US as of Sept 05. Approvals per month ranges between 400k and 600k. Received per month running a similar gamut. The inital brunt of this log is run through 4 processing centers. Texas, Nebraska, California, and Vermont. So evenly distributed this means the centers are processing somewhere between 100k and 150k forms a month. At that rate if you just worked on the back log it would take... about 6 months to work through 3 million cases. Surprise Surprise, that is about how long we expect it to take to get our K1. Its not exactly that simple of course. There are some 56 different visas and ascociated paperwork that these centers are dealing with. Some have backlogs dating back to '99. Yes you heard right. More than 5 years ago. The shortest are 2-3 months.
The thing that amazes me is that we have allowed this backlog to form. It isn't like the time dealy is so that they can take more time and be sure that the cases they are passing through are more closely looked at. Nope. In fact it looks like all things considered they can keep up with the monthly influx of requests. Why then is it that a 3 million case (down from 6 million not to long ago) back log has been allowed to form ? Well namely because the INS was rolled into homeland security. During the Transistion the backlog soared and we are only now getting on top of it. This means the immigration system is working in overdrive not to scrutinize people but to catch up on its to do list.
In the meantime, the severe delays in processing due to the backlog have caused a number of 'breaks' in the process. For one, a K1 visa requires a filing for change of status. The change of status is a detail that simply notes the fact that you did indeed get married and issues you your conditional green card. When you get married your K1 visa essentially is no longer valid. As envisioned, the time to file change of status should be relatively quick as there is no provision for the gap created in legal status from the time you are married until the change of Status is processed and your green card issued. However, due to the backlog, Change of Status is currently taking some 6 months to process. This creates a gap in your legal status in the US where you are not covered by anything other than an understanding that your change of status for permanent residence is pending. Why is this an issue? Two reasons. Right to enter the US. Right to Work in the US. Some might say that to avoid the right to enter the US you simply shouldn't travel. Well that is certainly a simple solution. However, is it not reasonable to assume that an international couple might be pre-disposed to a need to travel internationally? Weddings, Deaths, Celebrations etc are events in ones family that most people think nothing of going to. Yet for an interinational couple such events often require international travel. In the intervening period waiting for the PRC this is not an easy thing to do. The solution ? File more paperwork for advance parole. Similarly for the right to work you have to file for an EAD (employment authorization document) which takes ~90 days to process.
So let me get this straight. The reason for the problem is a backlog in the paper work. So in the meantime we are going to have you file MORE paperwork to deal with the delay? This folks, is what is known as throwing gasoline on a fire. You do not fix a paperwork backlog problem by requiring more paperwork to fill in the gaps. To make it even worse, they KNOW that the interim paperwork has to be on a shorter fuse so it gets priority, which in turn makes the backlog take even longer which only increases the need for the interim paperwork (EAD and Advance Parole).
Why not simply grant permanent residence status based either on an issued PRC or in its stead a marriage based visa (k1 or k3) along with a valid marriage certificate? This way the gaps caused by the backlog are handled without more paperwork in a way that makes sense. Suddenly the EAD and Advance Parole submissions for marriage based visa applicants dissapears and actually lowers the workload, rather than increasing it.
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