3 WAYS TO EXPEDITE YOUR APPLICATION WITH USCIS

One of the most common questions I get asked about dealing with USCIS is how do I expedite my application? For most form types with the agency, the wait for adjudication can be anywhere from a few months to multiple years. Because of this, a lot of applicants want to move their application along more quickly and thankfully, it is possible if you have a legitimate reason to do so and know the best way to present your need to the agency.

In this entry, I’ll go over the how and when you can request to expedite your application, as well as how USCIS works and approves these type of requests.

During my career with USCIS, I spent multiple years in my office’s customer service division, fielding thousands of expedite requests for many different form types and from different sources. USCIS requires you to meet certain criteria in order to first request expedited processing. These criteria are:

• Severe financial loss to a company or person, provided that the need for urgent action is not the result of the petitioner’s or applicant’s failure to timely file the benefit request or to timely respond to any requests for evidence;

• Emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations;

• Nonprofit organization (as designated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)) whose request is in furtherance of the cultural or social interests of the United States;

• Government interests, including cases identified by the government as urgent because they involve the public interest, public safety, national interest, or national security interests; and

• Clear USCIS error.

 The USCIS website does have some examples and more explanations for each of the above bullets. However, it’s important to remember that the burden of showing you meet one of the criteria is still on you, the applicant. Even if you think you have a clear and compelling case for an expedite request, if you can’t show that clearly to the agency, it’s possible they will deny a legitimate request. This is where an experienced former officer can assist in giving you the tools needed to show the agency your urgent need.

 Once you’ve established you meet one of the set expedite criteria and have gathered your supporting evidence, it’s important to know how and where to place your expedite request.

1)      Call USCIS: Your first option will always be calling USCIS directly and asking to expedite your application. Once you get through the automated prompts and speak with a representative, be prepared to demonstrate why you are requesting to expedite your application.

2)      Congressional Office: If you first contact USCIS directly and your request is denied or is taking too long, you should then contact your local congressional office for assistance.

3)      Contact the USCIS Ombudsmen: If you’ve tried the first two options and are still being stonewalled, you should contact the USCIS Ombudsmen for assistance. This office is independent of USCIS and exists to provide oversight and assistance to the public in dealing with the agency. USCIS gives priority to Ombudsmen inquiries and the specialists that work with the Ombudsmen’s office are very good with following up on all matters with the agency. A note of caution however; the Ombudsmen’s office has been targets for drastic budget cuts by the Trump administration. So it remains to be seen if the office will be able to provide the outstanding level of service it has in the past.