The Real Reason USCIS Is So SLOW!

Why is USCIS going so slow? Almost everybody waiting on USCIS is frustrated with how slowly they're processing cases. And while they have made some progress in speeding up timelines, the average times for primary cases are still almost twice as long as they were in 2016. Not to mention that their outstanding backlog is more than 4 million cases. So today I'm going to take you a little bit behind the scenes to share with you all the reasons why USCIS is still processing cases so slowly.

And as a bonus, I'm going to give you some tips on what you can do to help prevent your case from getting delayed. So stay tuned.

Top Reasons USCIS Is So Slow

Okay, so what are the biggest reasons why USCIS is taking so long to process cases? The first reason is the same one that they've been repeating until they've got blue in the face.

And that is because of Covid-19. When the pandemic hit, USCIS was forced to close all of their offices for several months. Not only did the USCIS suspend operations in their field offices, but the Department of State suspended routine visa services all over the world. So as a result, by the end of fiscal year 2022, there was a massive backlog of more than 5 million cases.

Fortunately, USCIS was able to reduce this backlog to 4.3 million by the end of last year. But even at this pace, it is still going to take more than five years to completely eliminate the backlog that was created by Covid-19 and to reach the pre-pandemic levels. The next biggest reason why USCIS is moving so slowly is because they are still understaffed.

The agency had a hiring freeze between 2020 and 2021, resulting in 1 in 5 job positions going empty. Afterwards, USCIS did hire more people, but even today, USCIS only has 21,000 actual employees. This is still about 3,000 less than what they need to operate at full capacity. And as a result, the majority of USCIS officers still have more work than they can handle, which means that pretty much the entire agency is going to take longer to do what it needs to do because of limited resources.

Next, USCIS also has super high turnover rates. Officers are overworked, overstressed, and underpaid. And if they wanted to, they can make just as much money, or even more money, at other jobs. So according to a former USCIS officer, it is not uncommon for immigration officers to get burned out and leave after just two years. And it is not easy for USCIS to be able to find a replacement for the officers that leave.

It can take as long as one whole year to do the background checks necessary for the job—It is a government job, after all—and to conduct the training necessary to get a new hire ready to do their job. So at any given time, USCIS likely has as many trainees who either can't work yet or who are inexperienced at their jobs.

While we're on the topic of employees, another reason why USCIS cases move so slowly is because of the type of employees that work at USCIS. Most USCIS officers are not risk takers. They are government employees. They are people who are looking for a safe and secure job that does not come with any surprises. That means that they are not going to take any risks on your behalf while adjudicating your case.

They're not going to give you the benefit of the doubt. So even if the smallest detail is missing or is out of place in your case, they're likely going to ask you for an RFE audit and that is going to slow things down. Another reason why USCIS is taking so long is because they are still a largely a paper-based agency.

Back in 2006, they did announce a plan to move to a digital system. Now, 18 years later, they can still only accept 18 out of 103 forms online. This means that the vast majority of work that they have to do still relies on actual physical paper files. You can see it when you walk into an immigration officer's office.

You see the files all over the place, in the back, in boxes to the side, under the table. You name it, paper files are everywhere. It's incredibly inefficient and is unlikely to change anytime soon. And also, it can create delays. And here is how. Remember when I mentioned that over Covid-19 there were shutdowns of the USCIS field offices?

Well, during this time, because so many officers were working from home, there are many reports that officers had to take these paper files with them and guess what happened? Several of these paper files may have gone missing, may have been misplaced, and thereby may have created more delays in certain cases. In addition, with every passing year, USCIS has made their forms longer, more complicated, and more detailed.

Back in 2003, the total number of pages across all of their forms was only 193 by 2016. This has more than doubled to 487 pages. And guess what? This is the most shocking of them all. By 2022, the total number of pages across all forms is more than 700 pages. As the forms get longer, USCIS officers have to spend more time reviewing all pages and all the answers there.

This means that it takes longer to just go through a paper file, and it also means that interviews become longer as well, because there is more information to verify at the time of your appointment. And as if everything we just covered was not enough to explain the nearly 4 million case backlog, USCIS has also experienced a record number of filings this year alone.

In fiscal year 2023, USCIS received 10.9 million filings across all case types. That is almost 2 million cases, more than the 9 million cases they received in fiscal years 2022 and 2021. And while USCIS was still able to process a record-breaking 10 million pending cases last year, that's still less than the number of total filings. So if this trend continues, USCIS is either going to need to hire more staff, increase their speed, or make their cases a little bit simpler, which we know is not the usual trend for immigration.

My Tips To Prevent Delays

Okay, so what are some of my tips for you so that you can prevent your case from falling behind? Remember, USCIS officers are not going to take a risk for you and are not going to give you the benefit of the doubt. So make sure that when you're preparing and filing your case, you try to do everything that you can to prevent any missing pieces and to include as much evidence as possible.

Make sure it's full and complete before it even hits their desk. You can do so by carefully reading over the form instructions as well as your own documentation to make sure everything is there. My recommendation is to use the instructions to fill out a draft application, and then use that draft to prepare a clean, final version. I also recommend creating a checklist of all the required documents that you can easily make yourself from the USCIS instructions for each form.

Then, before you send everything out, double-check everything to make sure all required documentation is included, and double-check your forms to make sure that there are no mistakes. It is not unheard of for immigrants to put together the perfect case, only to forget an important piece of paper and only to mail it to the wrong field office.

And just remember, USCIS officers are tired and burnt out. This means that they don't have the time or patience to sort through massive filings or sloppy filings. So you want to avoid sending an overwhelming and unnecessary amount of material. For example, if you're applying for a marriage-based green card, don't send them 1,000 pages of bank statements, and don't send them every single photo that you and your spouse have taken together.

Instead, send 50 to 100 photos and 6 to 12 months' worth of bank statements. I've seen officers issue an RFE simply because the package that they received was way too big and they didn't want to sort through it. So just send what's necessary to prove your case, but also make sure you don't send too little either. Their job isn't to help you get approved.

Their job is to find problems to keep you from getting approved because sometimes it's easier to issue a denial than an approval. So if you even have a remotely complex or difficult case, consider working with an immigration attorney who has experience and who can help guide you through the process. My name is Moumita Rahman, and I have been practicing immigration law for the past 14 years, so if you would like my help on your immigration case, call us for a case evaluation at 212-248-7907.

I'm based in New York, but I work nationwide in all 50 states, so don't be afraid to give us a call, even if you live somewhere else. And if you want to hear about more ways that you can speed up your case process, watch my other video, “8 Ways to Speed Up Your Case!” In it, I share every single way that you can expedite your immigration case if it gets stuck or goes beyond the normal processing time, including one that is particularly effective.

I'll put a link to that video above, click it and I'll see you there.