USCIS Rejections and Delays Due to April 1 Changes

Gibney attorneys and American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) members have been monitoring nationwide issues with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processing related to erroneous rejections and delays in receipt issuance for applications submitted over the last several weeks. These processing issues are stemming from broad April 1 changes to filing locations, filing fees, and form editions for many different types of applications.

AILA has raised both issues to USCIS for clarification and guidance and has requested:

• For erroneous rejections, that members be allowed to refile with updated forms, but with fees established before April 1, along with the originally filed application(s) as proof of the timely filed requested benefit
• For applications and petitions filed as of April 1, that USCIS accept and receipt these submissions, but with the original date on which they were received at any USCIS facility
• For delayed receipts, that USCIS provide an update on this issue and inform members when they can expect to see a decrease in this major delay, particularly for premium processing and lockbox submissions

We are continuing to monitor this situation and will work with clients individually to determine the best course of action for them, such as whether to refile a previously submitted application or wait for USCIS clarification on these issues. For more information, please reach out to your Gibney attorney or email info@gibney.com.