Prepare for more delay…
More reasons why it is unlikely that I-140 or for that matter, I-485 processing will continue to remian 
sluggish (it can’t get any worse, it’s rockbottom already for most of us)
1. There was a surge in EAD Renewal applications in August 2008. USCIS plicy requires applicants to apply a maximum of 120 days in advance of EAD expiration. As with many other USCIS rules, this makes life difficult for the USCIS and for the immigrants since the USCIS is now under pressure to approve all EAD renewals from the July 2007 surge, all within the 120 days. In other words, it’s as if, every year from now on, there will be a surge in the August-September 2008 time-frame since all July 2007 filers will keep re-applying for EAD renewal. Two things can reduce this. First, 2-year EAD renewals should not require I-140 approval (this will cut the problem in half) OR EAD renewal applications should be allowed at least 6-9 months in advance. Or, I-140 premium processing should be reinstated. In the absence of any such measures, the USCIS will continue to see a tremendous volume of applications around this time EVERY YEAR.
Image courtesy www.baysidetransmission.com/faq.html
2. For months, the excuse USCIS has been giving is that they are under a lot of pressure to not waste any 2008 visa numbers (fiscal year ended on September 31, 2008). 2008 fiscal year numbers do no carry over to 2009. So, for months, other applications such as I-140 and EAD renewals took the backseat in order to accomodate use of visa numbers and naturalization case processing (which was a national issue that several lobbyists were pursuing). So between these two, the 140,000 I-140 applicants suffered. At Endlesswait, we feel that this is not acceptable. Excuses are like armpits, everyone has one, and they all stink. There should be no excuse to not adjudicate any applications for 18 months. But regardless, that was the case. Now, the new excuse will be the renewal of AP and EAD for July 2007 applicants.
3. The House went into recess already and will re-convene on Jan 9, 2009. The Senate is expected to do the same soon. This means that any pressure/lobbying that the immigrant community could hope for will significantly diminish. USCIS is on its own, for the most part, for the next 3 months and we know what happens when they get a free hand..
Unless something changes dramatically, our predictions (50% probability in our opinion) for I-140 filings is that by the end of the year 2008, I-140 cut-off date is likely to progress only by another 30 days or so to August 2007 timeframe in TSC and April 2007 timeframe in NSC. Of course, the prediction is based on very limited information and should not be used as such for any serious decisions.
I am sorry to say this, but prepare for longer waits, fellow immigrants. In the meantime, if you want to try and help, click here.
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October 6th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
[...] I-140: Given the fact that the USCIS receives around 40,000 applications every month, and the fact that they are processing only around that many each month, it is unlikely that the backlog will reduce significantly over the next few months. [...]