USCIS announced that effective June 29, 2009, it will resume Premium Processing Service for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, in accordance with 8 CFR 103.2(f)(2).
After an evaluation of its I-140 backlog reduction efforts and increased I-140 adjudicative efficiencies, USCIS has concluded that it is now able to provide Premium Process Service for this benefit.
Internal procedure by which Motion to Re-open, Motion to Reconsider or Appeal is handled
Presently at the USCIS TSC the officer that issued the denial generally adjudicates the MTR. But this system will slowly change. The denial of the MTR will be reviewed by a supervisor. An appeal filed under 8 C.F.R. § 103.3 will always be first considered as an MTR.
Be sure to submit the supporting documentation along with the I-290B. If the center considers its decision as correct it will forward he appeal to the AAO.
I-140 backlog
USCIS has recently updated the number of petitions they have pending. The backlog for I-140 was 40,000 in October and now it is down to 10, 000.
I-485
USCIS has indicated that the EB-485 team at the NSC center is pre-adjudicating cases and will be ready to approve cases as soon as the priority date becomes current.
Filing an appeal
An I-140 petition, or Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, is filed to petition an alien worker to become a permanent resident in the United States. The employer must file an I-140 Petition on your behalf within 180 days from the date your Labor Certification is approved by the U. S. Department of Labor. An I-140 Petition may be filed without a Labor Certification where the beneficiary qualifies under EB-1 classification.
In a case dating back to 2001, Petitioner eventually moved his office to a location greater than 50 miles from the address of the original office listed on the Form ETA-750. In 2008, USCIS issued an RFE requesting Petitioner to submit evidence showing that the new location is still within the same metropolitan statistical area (SMSA) as the original location. While Government Data and distance may suggest the two locations are not within the same SMSA, we created a new and original argument enabling the Petitioner to obtain I-140 approval.
In recent months Service has issued I-140 RFEs requesting Petitioner to demonstrate ability to pay all immigrant and non-immigrant petitions in specified windows of time. For one client, this entailed analysis of approximately 150 petitions including H-1s (new, transfers, and extensions), L-1s, and I-140s. With detailed explanations of each petition, our firm was able to obtain I-140 approval within one week.
A beneficiary obtained an RFE given that she underwent only seven semesters for her bachelor's degree, one semester short of the four years typically required. Our office was able to succeed with the RFE and her EB-2 I-140 petition was granted within four days time.
A beneficiary had two three-year bachelor degrees from India and consequently his I-140 petition was denied on the grounds that the beneficiary did not have a four-year bachelor's degree. We were retained after the denial. Our firm was successful in appealing and winning in less than one month. Of course, this case had unique facts. We cannot assume that all three-year degree cases will go trough this smoothly.
We were hired to respond to an RFE. Client filed an EB2 I-140, where the PERM Petition required a Bachelor's and 5 years of experience. The client received an RFE in which USCIS argued the Beneficiary's degree, a Bachelor's in Commerce from India, equates to a 3-year degree and cannot be considered for an EB2 case. The Beneficiary possessed a four year Bachelor's Degree, however, this was not clearly established on his Degree. The client obtained his BS in Commerce before India switched to a standard 3-year program for his particular degree.