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ARTICLE · 30 AUGUST 2022

Business Immigration Monthly - August 2022

Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd.
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All government agencies involved in immigration processing continue to struggle with case backlog and processing delays.

United StatesImmigration
Julie Emerick
Julie Emerick
Derek W. Strain
Derek W. Strain
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Effects of Government Immigration Backlogs and Delays

All government agencies involved in immigration processing continue to struggle with case backlog and processing delays. Multiple reasons have been cited including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a hiring freeze, staff attrition, an increase in the number of cases filed and changes in policy. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman and Members of Congress have taken notice.

On June 30, 2022, USCIS Ombudsman Phyllis A. Coven delivered her office's Annual Report, which makes recommendations for USCIS operational and administrative policies and practices, to Congress. The Ombudsman cited USCIS for its severe and unprecedented backlog noting as of April 2022, USCIS has an inventory of 8.5 million applications/petitions to process, of which more than five million are backlogged cases. In the backlog metrics reported by USCIS on average it has capacity to process approximately 13% this

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