Update on Status of I-140 Petition Processing at NSC

In October, AILA reported on unusually long delays in receiving receipt notices for I-140s (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) from the Nebraska Service Center. While Nebraska has improved its turnaround time for issuing I-140 petition receipt notices, AILA is still reporting delays of 6 weeks or longer. In addition to issuance delays, AILA has received reports of mailing delays, with I-140 petition receipt notices reflecting a 10 day disparity with the postmark date. According to the Service Center, these delays were the result of installation of new machinery in the mailroom.

AILA has also reported that I-140 petitions filed with the Nebraska Service Center are typically taking 5 to 6 months to process, while I-140 petitions filed with the Texas Service Center are processed more quickly, with many cases taking only 6 weeks. AILA has communicated with the Nebraska Service Center regarding this processing discrepancy and was advised that the Nebraska Service Center is working through a backlog of I-140 petitions. The backlog resulted from the transfer of a large number of I-140 petitions from the Vermont Service Center early this fall following the USCIS’s bi-specialization implementation.

From AILA's IMMIGRATION THIS WEEK, Issue 01-07 (January 4, 2007).