5 Biden Policies that are Improving USCIS Processing Times
5/31/2021
In his first 100 days, President Biden rolled out numerous executive actions and legal measures related to immigration. Some of these changes affect the way various agencies like U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) process applications and petitions. Together, there is solid optimism that USCIS processing times will improve in the next few months.
Over the prior administration, processing times and denial rates exploded according to USCIS reporting. In fiscal year 2013, the average denial rate was just over 7 percent. Denials climbed to almost 12 percent in fiscal year 2020. Meanwhile, the backlog of pending cases grew by over 100 percent during the same period. What’s more, the agency threatened massive layoffs as costs outpaced fees collected.
President Biden’s executive order, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans, directs the secretary of homeland security to identify barriers that impede access to immigration benefits and fair, efficient adjudications of these benefits.
Let’s take a look at five factors that are improving USCIS processing times for immigration benefits.
Deference to Previous Decisions
This week, USCIS issued policy guidance instructing its officers to give deference to prior determinations when adjudicating extension requests.
Prior to the Trump administration, there was long-standing guidance for USCIS officers to defer to prior determinations of eligibility when adjudicating extensions requests involving the same parties. In simple terms, that means USCIS should quickly process a green card renewal unless significant, obvious facts come to light that would have them review the case in more detail. Likewise, a DACA renewal application should generally be approved unless there’s changing or new factors suggesting the applicant is not eligible.
In 2017, the Trump administration rescinded this guidance. The new policy instructed USCIS officers to dig deeper into simple renewal cases. They were looking for reasons to deny even when there were no indicators of a problem. This cost the agency more time and money. Consequently, it also translated into much longer processing times. President Biden’s action allows USCIS to correct this disastrous policy.
Under the reinstated deference policy, USCIS officers should now defer to prior approvals for immigration benefits involving the same parties and facts.
Blank Space Rejection Criteria Eliminated
The “blank space” criteria was ridiculous, but it was no laughing matter. USCIS was rejecting certain forms based on blank spaces on applications or petitions. Earlier this month, USCIS confirmed it has discontinued the “blank space” criteria.
In 2019, the agency began rejecting certain forms that included any type of blank space. Reports were rampant of forms being rejected on the basis of blank space for portions of applications that were not relevant to the case. This policy created a senseless stream of rejection letters to applicants and further contributed to increased USCIS processing times.
USCIS has reverted back to the rejection criteria that existed previously. That means they should not reject forms when the answer is non-essential. However, applicants should be aware that they can continue to receive a rejection if they:
- Leave required answers blank;
- Fail to respond to questions related to filing requirements; or
- Omit any required supporting documents.
These omissions and oversights will also significantly delay a case. If you’re preparing your form on CitizenPath, our software will confirm that you answer all essential questions. In addition to your prepared form, CitizenPath provides you with a set of personalized filing instructions that provide detailed directions on supporting documents, how to organize your application, and where to mail it. See how it works.
Public Charge Rule Rescinded
Under President Trump’s direction, the long-standing public charge rule was modified to make it harder for low-income people to obtain green cards. It essentially created a wealth test for most immigrants to become a permanent resident. But let’s face it, the more stringent public charge rule made it difficult for most immigrants to apply. It added a very long and invasive form (Form I-944, Declaration of Self Sufficiency). The policy also lengthened USCIS processing times to adjudicate a green card application.
Biden rescinded the Trump-era public charge rule in March. This removed the requirement to submit Form I-944 and eliminated many of the reasons to deny an application based on public charge. USCIS has reverted to the public charge rule that was previously in place. Thus, almost all family-based green card applicants are still required to have a sponsor.
CitizenPath helps applicants with all forms related to a family-based green card application. Sponsors can use our easy, online service to prepare Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, to remove the public charge ground of inadmissibility.
Immigrant Visa Ban Reversal
President Trump’s green card ban (Proclamation 10014) was just another way his administration stalled legal immigration and pushed out USCIS processing times. This stopped immigrant visas dead for certain categories.
Combined with the ban on nonimmigrant visas (Proclamation 10052), the immigrant visa ban greatly reduced visa issuance for foreign nationals from around the world. According to estimates from the Trump administration, the entry bans may have prevented approximately 525,000 foreign nationals from lawfully entering the United States. That caused the separation of thousands of families, prevented businesses from hiring essential employees, and disrupted the economy.
In February, the president revoked the immigrant visa ban, and the nonimmigrant visa ban expired soon after.
Resumption of Immigration Services
Let’s face it. The COVID-19 pandemic was a major contributing factor for worsening USCIS processing times over the last year. As the pandemic struck, USCIS closed all in-person appointments such as biometrics, interviews, and oath ceremonies. That halted many cases. The agency continued to accept new applications and petitions but had a limited ability to process and adjudicate. The backlog grew even more.
Likewise, most U.S. embassy and consulate offices closed their visa services and operated with extremely limited capacity. Consequently, applicants were stuck waiting to start or continue the immigration process.
President Trump’s leadership on vaccine development and President Biden’s implementation of the vaccination process have been excellent. It’s allowing the United States to return to normalcy just a little quicker than most parts of the world.
USCIS Application Support Centers are operating again with some limitations. The State Department is resuming routine visa services on a post-by-post basis. Applicants should check the website of their nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for updates on what visa services are currently available. As such, we expect to see continued improvements in USCIS processing times this year.
Source: https://citizenpath.com/uscis-processing-times/
DHS Issues Final Rule to Remove Vacated H-1B Rule from Code of Federal Regulations
Release Date: 5/18/2021
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a final rule that removes from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) an interim final rule (IFR) issued in October 2020, which has since been vacated by a federal district court.
On Oct. 8, 2020, DHS issued an IFR titled, Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa
Classification Program. On Dec. 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California vacated the IFR.
This final rule removes the regulatory text that DHS published in the vacated October 2020 IFR and restores the regulatory text to appear as it did before the October 2020 IFR was issued.
Last Reviewed/Updated: 05/18/2021
DHS Announces Steps to Protect Border Communities from Wall Construction
Release Date: April 30, 2021
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced initial steps to protect border communities from physical dangers resulting from the previous administration’s approach to border wall construction.
On his first day in office, President Biden issued a Proclamation terminating the redirection of funds diverted for border wall construction, pausing all wall construction to the extent permitted by law, and requiring Federal agencies to develop a plan for funds concerning the Southern Border wall. As DHS continues to review the extensive problems created by the prior administration’s border wall construction and develop its plans, the department will take the following initial steps consistent with the President’s Proclamation to protect border communities:
- Repair the Rio Grande Valley’s Flood Barrier System: Construction under the prior administration blew large holes into the Rio Grande Valley’s flood barrier system to make way for a border wall. The flood barrier system had long provided low-lying regions of Hidalgo County, Texas, protection from catastrophic flooding, and these breaches have threatened local communities. DHS will start work to quickly repair the flood barrier system to protect border communities. This work will not involve expanding the border barrier.
- Remediate Dangerous Soil Erosion in San Diego: Improper compaction of soil and construction materials along a wall segment constructed by the prior administration is causing dangerous erosion along a 14-mile stretch in San Diego, California. DHS will begin necessary backfill projects to ensure the safety of nearby border communities. This work will not involve expanding the border barrier.
DHS will soon complete a plan that identifies additional measures to address the damage resulting from the prior Administration’s border wall construction.
Source: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2021/04/30/dhs-announces-steps-protect-border-communities-wall-construction
DHS Releases Detailed Immigration Data
Release Date: December 31, 2020
Comprehensive Lifecycle Report Reveals Significant Discrepancy of Outcomes of Encounters with Aliens at the Southwest Border Between 2014 and 2019
Washington, D.C. – Today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the Fiscal Year 2020 Enforcement Lifecycle Report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of enforcement outcomes for aliens encountered at the Southwest Border during Fiscal Years 2014 through 2019. Unlike previous DHS reports, the Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) Enforcement Lifecycle methodology links records across 19 different DHS and Department of Justice (DOJ) source systems to match each unique border encounter to its associated final or most current enforcement outcome and so provides a complete end-to-end view of immigration enforcement.
“The Trump Administration has worked tirelessly to fix our broken immigration system,” said Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli. “With this comprehensive report the Department analyzes the patterns of flow, the demographic backgrounds, and other factors so we can see areas for improvement, where to close loopholes and more effectively enforce the laws that allow for the removal of illegal aliens and those who are trying to game our immigration system.”
The report indicates U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended 2.8 million aliens between ports of entry along the Southwest Border between Fiscal Year 2014 and 2019 and found an additional 725,000 aliens inadmissible at ports of entry. The report found, significantly, that as of the second quarter of FY 2020, only approximately 8 percent of those encounters had resulted in an alien being granted relief or protection from removal. Further, roughly half of aliens encountered between 2014 and 2019 remained in the United States as of the second quarter of FY 2020. Specifically:
– Only 59 percent of the 3.5 million Southwest Border encounters between 2014 and 2019 had been resolved through a final outcome of repatriation or relief/protection from removal as of FY 2020 Q2.
– Repatriations accounted for 51 percent of encounters (or 1.8 million) versus 49 percent of encounters (or 1.7 million) that had no confirmed departure, including 8.1 percent that had been granted relief or other protection from removal (284,000 encounters).
The data compiled by the Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) also revealed significant differences in the outcomes of encounters based on aliens’ family status of the aliens, among other factors:
- Encounters of single adults were resolved 85 percent of the time (of resolved cases, 92 percent were repatriations versus 8 percent relief). Of the 2.1 million single adults encountered in 2014 – 2019, 1.6 million had been repatriated.
- Encounters of family units were resolved just 11 percent of the time (56 percent repatriations versus 44 percent relief). Of the roughly 1 million members of family units encountered in 2014 – 2019, only 61,000 (6 percent) had been repatriated, while over 200,000 members of family units had final orders of removal but had not departed.
- Encounters of unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries were resolved only 32 percent of the time (13 percent repatriations versus 87 percent relief). Of the 284,000 unaccompanied alien child encounters from countries other than Mexico or Canada between 2014 and 2019, only 13,000 had been repatriated, while 47,000 had final orders of removal but had not departed.
The report also found dramatic differences in enforcement outcomes by aliens’ nationality and whether they claimed fear of return to their home country.
Differences in outcomes by family status and other factors overlap with and are related to whether an alien was detained. For example, encounters of single adults resulted in continuous detentions 64 percent of the time, versus just 4 percent for family units and for unaccompanied alien children from countries other than Mexico or Canada. Detention status further contributed to difference in enforcement outcomes:
- Roughly 98 percent of encounters (1.4 million) who were continuously detained after being initially encountered between 2014 and 2019 were repatriated.
- Only 36 percent of encounters who were never detained (312,000) were repatriated. Further, 122,000 encounters who were never detained had final orders of removal but had not departed, including 101,000 orders issued in absentia.
- Only 4 percent of encounters who were “partially detained” (totaling nearly 31,000) were repatriated. Further, roughly 176,000 aliens encountered between 2014 and 2019 who were “partially detained” had final orders of removal but had not departed, including roughly 136,000 who had been issued in absentia orders.
The full report is available for review here.
FY14-19 Lifecycle Report Key Findings can be found here.
The letter from Acting Deputy Secretary Cuccinelli can be read here.
