Processing Times and Priority Dates

About Visa Priority Dates

While there are several places where your matter may be awaiting processing, there are two principal reasons that you may be experiencing significant delays. One is processing delays on the part of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services personnel, and the other is based on statutory delay caused by a shortage of available visas. The number of immigrant visas issued every year is determined according to the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act; for example, there are approximately 140,000 visas available for employment-based permanent residence on an annual basis. There is typically a backlog in awarding available visas to those who have already applied, so when your petition is approved you will most likely be assigned a priority date. As soon as the date becomes current, you will be eligible to apply for permanent resident status.

Cleveland Immigration Attorney

The immigration process often involves several different steps and government agencies. We at Brown Immigration Law are committed to handling your individual matter in a professional, competent, and timely manner by providing exceptional legal representation. The governmental agencies involved in the decision process set their own work schedules and are subject to strict statutory and regulatory guidelines that often prevent an expeditious processing of your matter. Backlogs may occur with the labor certification process at the Department of Labor; with visa petition processing and immigrant application processing at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; with the Department of State both at the National Visa Processing Center and at the U.S. Consulate abroad; and with the U.S. district courts for naturalization oath ceremonies.

In many instances, there is little or nothing that may be done to expedite the process through the government office. The Ohio immigration lawyers of our firm - Robert Brown, Rishi Oza, Aleksandar Cuic, Erin Brown, and Kathryn Russell - are committed to providing our clients with a complete understanding of the process and of what to expect at every step of the way. We even provide an exclusive online confidential portal for your case.