Month: December 2007

USCIS has received a significant increase in the number of applications filed. In July and August, nearly 2.5 million applications and petitions of all types were received. This compares to 1.2 million applications and petitions received in the same time period last year. This fiscal year, we received 1.4 million applications for naturalization; nearly double the volume we received the year before. The agency is working to improve processes and focus increased resources, including hiring approximately 1,500 new employees, to address this workload.

As a result, average processing times for certain application types may grow longer. In particular, naturalization applications filed after June 1, 2007 may take approximately 16-18 months to process.

USCIS has several informational services to keep you apprised of the agency’s progress. We encourage you to take advantage of information posted on our website and to create and monitor your profile in our Case Status Online system to properly track your case. You will find a link to Case Status Online in the Related Links section of this page.

We will continue to provide additional information on application processing times as it becomes available.

Border crossing cardholders (BCC) may remain in the U.S. for up to six months and travel more than 25 miles from the border when they are issued I-94 cards. During the holiday season, the busy ports of entry at San Ysidoro, Otay Mesa and Calexico process approximately 3,000 I-94 applications a day. Unfortunately, this high volume leads to processing times in excess of three hours. To avoid inconveniences and unnecessary delays, CBP has stressed that BCC travelers wishing to use I-94 cards for holiday vacations should apply early for their I-94 cards at the San Ysidoro, Otay Mesa and Calexico ports of entry. The Calexico West facility, located in downtown Calexico, will be open 24 hours a day and the Calexico East facility will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The ports at San Ysidoro and Otay Mesa will begin 24-hour operation December 14, 2007. These extended hours will last until January 6, 2008. All ports allow for applications up to 30 days in advance of the travel. It is important that all members of the family wishing to travel on BCCs and I-94s present themselves at these ports of entry when applying for the I-94 cards in advance of travel.