USCIS Testimony Regarding Probable Naturalization and I-485 delays

[lawrence01]

This is the testimony of USCIS to Congresswoman Lofgren, Chairwoman of the House's Subcommittee on Immigration. Take this as a nice to know article.

The testimony actually concentrated on naturalization cases but there are actually more I-485 cases than naturalization ones base on their chart.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/testimony/testimony_ETG_17jan08.pdf

[lawrence01]

Related article from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/us/18immig.html?_r=1&_r&oref=slogin

Legal Immigrants Facing a Longer Wait

By JULIA PRESTON

Because of an unprecedented surge in immigration applications last summer, legal immigrants will have to wait much longer during the next two years to receive visas or naturalization papers, the top official of the federal agency that issues those documents said Thursday.

In a statement before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, the official, Emilio T. Gonzalez, the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, said that from now until 2010 the agency would take an average of 18 months to process petitions from legal immigrants for citizenship, up from 7 months or less last year. Visas for permanent residents sponsored by relatives in the United States will take one year, up from the current average of six months or less, he said.