A Olusanjo Omoniyi
Immigration AttorneyThe new rule is not intended to guarantee a faster processing time. As a result, the best source to rely on is the monthly visa bulletin issued by the State Department.
I am from Saudi Arabia and I submitted my I-526 petition on Jan. 19, 2018. Since USCIS will start prioritizing I-526 petitions from countries with visa availability, can I expect my petition to be approved faster than the timeline claimed on the website of USCIS?
The new rule is not intended to guarantee a faster processing time. As a result, the best source to rely on is the monthly visa bulletin issued by the State Department.
Yes, we would expect that non-backlogged cases will be processed faster. Most of our petitions are processed within two years. Let us hope that if this policy is introduced they will actually speed up adjudications.
The intent is to move the available cases to the front of the line, but as for whether this could undercutting the current processing times, it remains to be seen.
In theory, yes, your petition should be processed sooner than the stated processing time on the USCIS website.
The short answer to your question is yes, but there is no way to determine how much faster your I-526 will be adjudicated once USCIS fully implements its priority processing for petitions with immediate visa number availability.
Yes, if the intent of USCIS is understood correctly, petitions like yours that are current should be moved up in the adjudication process.