The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides case status for everyone who has filed their immigration application with them. The applicants can check on their application status with multiple methods, e.g., online, by phone, or in person.
By changing the status of each application submitted, it cannot be separated from the role of the USCIS system, which continues to update it regularly on each application. If you happen to check your application status, you may wonder how often USCIS updates an applicant’s case status. Okay, here’s everything you need to know about it!
How Often Does USCIS Update on Case Status?
If the processing time of each application is very specific and also depends on the type of case, USCIS makes an effort to regularly update the case status of each application once a month on their system.
For most application forms, the processing times shown are based on data that is one month old. For forms that still use the cycle time methodology, the processing times shown will be based on data captured roughly two months before the page is updated.
In addition, the general practice of USCIS implies that the status of all applications will be updated every 15th of a month. In the case of USCIS case status not being updated, it does not mean that processing on different applications is also performed once a month.
What is the Normal Processing Time of each USCIS Application?
When it comes to the normal processing time of each USCIS application, it may be hard and unclear to explain. Why? It’s because the time taken by USCIS to process each application will be different depending on the type of case and the specific circumstances, such as the availability of supporting evidence, paperwork volume, and additional requirements.
Aside from that, the processing time actually includes all the time from receipt to completion. Of course, it includes the amount of time that it takes to file biometrics, the time an applicant takes to respond to a request for more information, as well as the rescheduling of interviews.
In fact, USCIS receives hundreds of thousands of immigrant applications every year. Of course, they will take a lot of extra time to handle this enormous volume of paperwork. That’s why the processing time for each application can range from a few months to over a year.
For more information, the processing time may take up to 120 working days, or four months, to obtain the final decision from the agency regarding your application after you have passed through the interview process.
What Factors Affect USCIS’s Ability to Complete an Application?
There are some other factors that may affect how long it takes for USCIS to complete an application. Here they are:
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- The number of applications, requests, or petitions
- The time a benefit requestor may take to respond to a request for more information
- Workload and staffing allocations
- Policy and operational changes
- Etc.
In addition, some case-specific factors may also play a role in making an individual adjudication more complex, which requires additional adjudicative time. Some factors can also be affected by the benefit requestor, such as:
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- If an application is incomplete when USCIS receives it, or
- If an application receives a request for more information, or also
- if the requestor misses an appointment for biometric submission or interview.
You’ve waited longer than the average processing time; What Should You Do?
If you wait longer than the average processing time set by USCIS, you may need to determine whether your application has been entered and processed or even cancelled. To do so, you may need to take the following options:
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- Double-check on the status of your application with USCIS. It could be via the USCIS website, by phone, mail, or in person.
- Submit a case inquiry to know why your application takes longer than average processing time.
- Call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 and tell them what you’re experiencing.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
