How long does it take USCIS to approve a Green Card by family petition?

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It is difficult to determine an exact date of how long it takes the office of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in approve and submit a Green Card by family petitionbut the delays that intensified two years ago have made the situation more complicated.

The USCIS system to know an approximate time for resolution of the case varies by each office, for example, in Albany, New York, it is 18.5 months; while in Brooklyn, New York, it is 34 months; while in Las Vegas, Nevada, it can be 23 months or 17 months in El Paso, Texas.

The recent bulletin on USCIS procedures, issued by the Department of State confirm, once again, the delay of several years in the processes for different proceduresincluding the Green Card for a relative, be it the spouse, parents, children or siblings.

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Even the “2023 Annual Report of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman” acknowledges the delays facing USCIS, although it defends that there has been some minimal progress.

Lawyer Maurice Goldman, who operates out of New York, posted a tweet about a client, a US citizen seeking to sponsor an unmarried adult from the UK.

Goldman cites that the petition would fall into the F1 category of the Visa Bulletin issued by the Department of State, that is, for the sponsorship of unmarried children.

“He asked me how long the process could take and I showed him these graphs,” Golman said in his tweet, where he posted two issues of the monthly newsletter, one from October 2021 and one from July 2023. Both have practically the same dates, with two weeks apart.

“[El inmigrante] It is of category F1 (total load column). The date has ‘progressed’ TWO weeks from October 2021,” says Goldam.

He added that his response to the prospective client was that the immigrant being sought sponsor with a Green Card it could be almost impossible right now.

“He could make it into his life [en EE.UU.]but I see it as difficult,” the lawyer warned his client.

The American citizen asked the lawyer Goldman how this problem could be solved and the answer was that only Congress could do it.

The lawyer refers to the fact that an immigration reform could allow USCIS to obtain more resources and speed up immigration processes, as well as unlock the annual allocations of Green Cards, something that civil organizations have fought for in recent years.

What has been done?

In his annual report on USCIS services, the Ombudsman acknowledges that the agency has implemented some actions to address the delays, but those adjustments seem palliativesince they do not solve a person’s status problem, although it allows them to remain in the US legally and continue working.

“The agency continued to address the symptoms of continued backlogs. The most obvious of these was to include a temporary final rule, enacted in May 2022 and effective through October 2023, adjusting the validity of the EAD. [Documento de Autorización de Empleo] for many applications from 180 days or 240 days to 540 days”, acknowledges the defender.

The extension of the validity of other types of processes is also recognized, such as Form I-90, Application for Replacement of Permanent Resident Card (Green Card), and for Form I-751, to allow them to continue to be used for authorization of employment and travel, says the report.

To do?

There are not many options for immigrants, except check in the USCIS online system (MyUSCIS) about progress and, if you have a lawyer, ask for reports about the case.

It should be remembered that each case is unique, so different factors influence a decision by the immigration agency.

For example, Rami – whose name was changed at his request – says that he applied for a Green Card through family sponsorship through his mother. He did the paperwork more than two years ago and six months ago he received notification that his case was accepted.

“I am waiting for the final decision or at least moving forward,” said the Jordanian.

His lawyer told him that this message from USCIS actually notifies that it accepted the case for review, so there is still a way to go, including the registration of biometric data (fingerprints and photograph), in addition to the security review.

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