On July 14, 2016, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) released its updated case processing times report [link]. The processing times are as of July 1, 2016.
The AAO case processing times are for appeals of unfavorable decisions by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices after an “initial field review.” After initially receiving an unfavorable decision, an applicant may ask for the field office to conduct an initial field review. The USCIS advises that the initial field review should be completed within 45 days.
If the field office does not take favorable action on the appeal, it will then send the applicant a Notice of Transfer to the AAO. The following chart will indicate the estimated AAO processing times for handling appeals.
The expected case processing times for the AAO to render a decision is 6 months or less for all forms as of July 1, 2016. This is mostly unchanged from the expected AAO case processing times as of February 1, 2016, save for the I-129F, Petition for Fiancée, and the Form N-600, Certificate of Citizenship, which were both 7 months as of February 1, 2016 [see blog]. The following chart contains the estimated AAO case processing times as of July 1, 2016:
| Form Number | Case Type | Time |
|---|---|---|
| I-129CW | CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-129F | Petition for Fiancée | 6 months or less |
| I-129 H1B | Nonimmigrant Specialty Occupation Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-129 H2 | Temporary Nonimmigrant Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-129 H3 | Temporary Nonimmigrant Trainee | 6 months or less |
| I-129 L | Nonimmigrant Intracompany Transferee | 6 months or less |
| I-129 O | Nonimmigrant Extraordinary Ability Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-129 P1, P2, P3 | Athletes, Artists and Entertainers | 6 months or less |
| I-129 Q | Cultural Exchange Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-129 R | Nonimmigrant Religious Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-131 | Application for Travel Document | 6 months or less |
| I-140 EB1 | (A) Alien with Extraordinary Ability | 6 months or less |
| I-140 EB1 | (B) Outstanding Professor or Researcher | 6 months or less |
| I-140 EB1 | (C) Multinational Manager or Executive | 6 months or less |
| I-140 EB2 | (D) Advanced Degree Professional | 6 months or less |
| I-140 EB2 | (I) National Interest Waiver | 6 months or less |
| I-140 EB3 | (E) Skilled or Professional Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-140 EB3 | (G) Other Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-212 | Application to Reapply for Admission | 6 months or less |
| I-352 | Bond Breach | 6 months or less |
| I-360 EB4 | Petition for Religious Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-360 A | Amerasian | 6 months or less |
| I-360 C | Special Immigrant Juvenile | 6 months or less |
| I-360 K | Special Immigrant Afghanistan or Iraq National Translator | 6 months or less |
| I-360 VAWA | Violence Against Women Act Petition | 6 months or less |
| I-360 E | Special Immigrant Canal Zone | 6 months or less |
| I-360 F | Special Immigrant Physician | 6 months or less |
| I-360 H | Special Immigrant Armed Forces Member | 6 months or less |
| I-360 G | Special Immigrant Intl Org. Employee | 6 months or less |
| I-360 L | Special Immigrant Iraq National US Employee | 6 months or less |
| I-360 M | Special Immigrant Other | 6 months or less |
| I-485 LIFE | LIFE Act Adjustment Application | 6 months or less |
| I-485 Dplmt | Section 13 Adjustment Application | 6 months or less |
| I-485 T | T Visa Nonimmigrant Adjustment | 6 months or less |
| I-485 U | U Visa Nonimmigrant Adjustment | 6 months or less |
| I-526 EB5 | Alien Entrepreneur | 6 months or less |
| I-600 | Petition for Orphan | 6 months or less |
| I-601 | Application for Waiver of Inadmissibility | 7 months |
| I-612 | Application for 212(e) Waiver | 6 months or less |
| I-687 | Legalization Application for Temporary Residence | 6 months or less |
| I-690 | Legalization/SAW -Waive Grounds of Excludability | 6 months or less |
| I-698 | Legalization Adjustment Application | 6 months or less |
| I-700 | Special Agricultural Worker | 6 months or less |
| I-821 | Temporary Protected Status | 6 months or less |
| I-800 | Convention Adoption as an Immediate Relative | 6 months or less |
| I-905 | Application to Issue Cert for Health Care Workers | 6 months or less |
| I-914 | Application for T Nonimmigrant Status | 6 months or less |
| I-918 | Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status | 6 months or less |
| I-924 | Application for Regional Center | 6 months or less |
| I-929 | Qualifying Family Member of a U Nonimmigrant | 6 months or less |
| N-470 | Application to Preserve Residence | 6 months or less |
| N-565 | Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document | 6 months or less |
| N-600 | Certificate of Citizenship | 6 months or less |
| N-643 | Certificate of Citizenship for Adopted Child | 6 months or less |
The USCIS explains that the AAO cannot provide case status information on appeals awaiting initial field review by a USCIS field office. However, the USCIS explains that the applicant may contact the USCIS National Customer Service line at (800) 375-5283 (the TTY number is (800) 767-1833) to inquire about a case if the applicant has not received any of the following from the USCIS within 75 days of filing the appeal:
An approval notice;
A request for evidence;
A Notice of Transfer to the AAO; or
Any other correspondence or action from the [USCIS] field office.
Persons filing immigration forms for benefits or immigration relief should always consult with an experienced immigration attorney. An experienced immigration attorney will not only be of assistance in the process of appealing an unfavorable decision by the USCIS, but also in the initial filing of a form in helping the applicant to ensure that he or she is filing for the correct immigration benefits and that the forms are properly filed with all of the requisite evidence.
