4 reasons to ask USCIS for expedited processing

Unquestionably, the process for any immigration request takes a long time. In fact, some wait years before obtaining the green card or visa they request, and this can cause hardships. Under certain conditions, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will expedite, or speed up, the decision-making process for those who are requesting immigration benefitsIn most cases, petitioners can call the USCIS to seek expedited processing as soon as they receive a receipt notice for their applications. 

Sometimes a petitioner may miss a deadline or fail to respond to the USCIS efforts to contact him or her for additional information. These are not compelling reasons to seek an expedited adjudication. However, any of the following may at least get the agency to consider a request: 

  • A financial loss that is not expected to withstand the wait that normal processing takes 
  • A humanitarian reason, such as having a relative who is seriously or in urgent danger 
  • A situation that affects the interests of the nation, such as a security issue or other concern of the U.S. government 
  • An obvious mistake on the part of the USCIS that causes the petitioner serious hardship, such as entering the wrong date on someone’s employee authorization card 

One can imagine that the USCIS receives countless requests for benefits, and many of them include the petition for an expedited decision. While expedited processing may be faster, it will still likely take some time to complete. The best way to improve one’s chances of success when seeking a faster judgment is to provide plenty of documentation of compelling factors that support the need for a quick decision.