UPDATE: YSC Case Status Check Works
If you have a case with a receipt number that begins with the three letter string – YSC – your case is now trackable online. YSC denotes the Potomac Service Center, which is a new service center adjudicating immigration petitions. Cases have been under review there but case status check online has not been available. It is now available for a YSC receipt.
Updated Processing Times for USCIS
USCIS updated the processing times it is taking for applications. There are some glaringly slow processing times. These are dates that reflect statistics from January 31, 2016. If you have an Extension or Change of Status for H-1B cases, you will be waiting many months, no matter whether it is in California’s or Vermont’s Service Center. The slow pace of H-1B extension processing times has been problematic over the past few months and is the source of much ire from companies, employees, and lawyers. It is essentially demanding the $1,225 fee for premium processing. U visa processing time has just frozen in May of 2014.
If you have a petition pending at the Potomac Service Center – you know that because your receipt number begins with the string ‘YSC’- you will not know your processing time. Petitions that are pending at the Potomac Service Center do not have published processing times and you cannot check their status on the case status checker online.
Recognizing that many of their employment authorization petitions are pushing 90 days, USCIS is issuing transfer notices and spreading the work load.
Why Can’t I Check My Case Status: YSC, The Potomac Service Center
Many applications that we are filing have a receipt number that begins with the letter string – YSC. Whenever you file an application with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, you are issued a Receipt Notice with a case-specific receipt number.
If you are trying to track your case number if it begins with YSC, you will encounter an error. Just like with asylum applications, YSC is not available for case status tracking. YSC represents the Potomac Service Center, located in Arlington, Virginia. It was actually opened to process the expected avalanche of DACA and DAPA applications from the president’s executive orders, but as those are tied up in legal battles, the Service Center has been handling some family-based applications. There is no case status tracking feature available and no processing times available.
Employment Authorization Cases Being Moved to Texas
If you have a recent employment authorization case, do not be surprised if USCIS sends you a transfer notice. To spread out the work more evenly, the agency is sending many of its employment authorization applications to the Texas Service Center. When USCIS transfers applications between service centers, it issues a transfer notice. All the notice means is that your case is being transferred. A decision has not been made.
The agency is still trying to ensure that it is making decisions within 90 days. If you move your residence, you are obligated to make USCIS aware of the change. This is important. If you move addresses and USCIS does not know, your card may not arrive to the proper address.
USCIS Processing Times Released
USCIS has released its most recent processing times for all of the kinds of cases it adjudicates. The data are broken down by the specific Service Center. For example, E-2 visa applications are adjudicated by the California Service Center. The processing time listed is two months. Both the Vermont and California Service Centers adjudicate O and P visa petitions. The California Service Center is adjudicating these petitions in two weeks, which is their stated goal. Vermont Service Center is taking over two months. Of note are that the Vermont Service Center is working on U Visa applications filed in May of 2014. It seems that most Employment Authorization applications are on track to be adjudicated within the regulatory mandated 90 days.
Premium Processing is available for the following kinds of cases. Premium processing requires a $1,225 fee. In exchange, the Service Center will render a decision within 15 days and communicate by email for faster correspondence.