Expediting Immigration Cases and Visa Interviews: When and How to Request

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) currently has backlogs in processing most applications and petitions, so attorneys have begun looking for ways to speed up their clients' cases. The Department of State (DOS) faces similar delays in scheduling immigrant visa interviews, which usually take place at U.S. consulates abroad.

Applicants can refer to case processing times published on the USCIS website and initiate an inquiry once their application exceeds normal processing times. However, doing so may not necessarily speed up case processing. Other methods include seeking congressional intervention, requesting review by the USCIS Ombudsman's Office, or filing a mandamus lawsuit in federal district court. Some immigration benefit applicants may call a designated USCIS phone number to report excessive delays; others may be members of a class action lawsuit that, under a court settlement, requires applications to be adjudicated within a specific timeframe.

Due to high demand, staffing shortages, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrant visa applicants have also experienced prolonged delays in consular interview scheduling. The National Visa Center (NVC) maintains a report on the immigrant visa interview backlog, but the agency does not provide a website for applicants to check visa backlogs at specific consulates. The latest report shows only that 326,415 applicants who have become "documentarily qualified" are waiting for interview scheduling.

Applicants can visit the Consular Electronic Application Center website and click "Check My Visa Application Status" to obtain case status. They then need to enter their immigrant visa case number and verification code. The status may show as "At NVC," "In Transit" (to the consulate), or "Ready" (for interview scheduling). NVC has also created a website for applicants to view various NVC timeframes: current case creation time, case review time, and public inquiry form response time.

This article describes the circumstances under which applicants may request that USCIS expedite adjudication of an application or that DOS expedite consular processing of an immigrant visa application. It also covers the new policy changes outlined in the March 21, 2024 USCIS policy alert, which are detailed in the policy manual.

Expediting Cases at USCIS

USCIS has established a special webpage detailing the process for requesting that the agency expedite a pending application or petition.

Every applicant or petitioner has the right to request expedited processing. USCIS states that it will consider all expedite requests on a case-by-case basis and will "carefully weigh the urgency and value of each expedite request." It considers the following criteria or circumstances:

• Severe financial loss to a company or person;

• Emergency situations and urgent humanitarian reasons;

• Requests by nonprofit organizations that further U.S. cultural or social interests;

• U.S. government interests;

• Clear USCIS error.

Among these five possible grounds, most applicants are likely to file based on the first or second ground. USCIS provides information in its policy manual about what it expects applicants to demonstrate and document.

For severe financial loss, the requester must show that the need for expedited processing was not caused by failure to timely file the relevant application or respond to any request for evidence. The most common financial harm may be due to potential job loss, inability to travel for work, or loss of critical public benefits or services. A mere need to obtain employment authorization, without evidence of "other urgent factors," is insufficient to justify expedited processing.

Emergency situations and urgent humanitarian reasons are limited to circumstances related to human welfare, including "illness, disability, extreme living conditions, death in the family, or an urgent need to travel to a medical facility for treatment." Applications involving humanitarian relief—such as asylum, refugee status, or humanitarian parole—inherently involve urgent humanitarian circumstances and therefore will not be expedited.

The supporting evidence an applicant needs to submit will depend on the emergency. For health-related reasons, it would be a letter from a doctor, hospital, or clinic documenting the medical diagnosis and the urgency of the health issue, as well as proof of the relationship between the requester and the affected party.

USCIS will also accept requests to expedite travel documents if the applicant demonstrates an "urgent or critical need." Examples may include unforeseen events requiring medical treatment or the death or serious illness of a family member. They may also include travel to attend a planned event, assuming the applicant has previously submitted Form I-134, for a conference, training, wedding, or graduation ceremony. Obviously, travel for vacation purposes does not qualify. Supporting evidence the applicant needs to submit includes a copy of the event invitation or a letter from an academic institution, and proof of the critical need for the applicant to attend. Expedite requests must be submitted at least 45 days before the planned event.

How to Request USCIS Expedited Processing

Before submitting an expedite request, the applicant must have the application receipt notice, check current case processing times to determine whether expediting is needed, and check the case status online. If any action is required on the pending case, such as submitting biometrics or civil documents, those steps must be completed before submitting the request.

First, call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283, or click the "Need Help? Ask Emma" icon in the upper right corner of the uscis.gov website. You will need to provide the application receipt number and the reason for the expedite request. The Contact Center will then create and forward a service request to the USCIS office responsible for the application. The reviewing office may subsequently request additional documents supporting the expedite request. If the request is approved, USCIS will prioritize the application and make a decision faster than normal processing times.

The following applications have special procedures:

• Adoption: See the USCIS adoption contact information webpage for information;

• Appeals: Include the expedite request in the notice of appeal;

• Appeals to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO): Mail the expedite request directly to the AAO;

• Appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA): Follow the BIA's expedited processing procedures;

• Asylum applications: Submit the expedite request to the office responsible for the asylum application;

• Refugee status applications: Send the expedite request directly to the Resettlement Support Center handling the case;

• Humanitarian parole for beneficiaries outside the United States: Send the expedite request to the humanitarian affairs division.

How to Request Assistance from the CIS Ombudsman's Office

The CIS Ombudsman's Office can help with emergency situations or hardship cases that meet USCIS expedite criteria. It can also be contacted if USCIS has approved an expedite request but has not completed processing after 60 days. Before requesting assistance, the applicant must first contact USCIS and their congressional representative and document the failure of those efforts. The applicant must also include a screenshot of USCIS processing times showing that the case is beyond processing time. Practitioners must submit Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative.

To submit a request for assistance, file Form 7001 with the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman online or by mail, requesting case assistance, along with supporting documents, at the mailing address: Department of Homeland Security, Attn: Case Assistance, Mail Stop 0180, Washington, D.C. 20528. For questions about the form, call the Ombudsman's Office at 1-855-882-8100 or email [email protected] .

Requesting Expedited Immigrant Visa Cases from DOS

The basis and procedure for expedite requests to DOS depend on the stage of the immigrant visa process. A request can be made only after USCIS has approved the relevant petition, forwarded it to NVC, and NVC has created a file containing the case number and invoice ID. In addition, expedited processing can be requested only when a visa is available. This means the applicant is classified as an immediate relative or their priority date is current in the Visa Bulletin's Chart A for that preference category and chargeability area. Expedite requests are submitted to NVC (if an immigrant visa interview has not yet been scheduled) or to the specific consulate (if the applicant wants an earlier interview date).

Expedited Immigrant Visa Processing with NVC

Before submitting an expedite request, the applicant must have paid the immigrant visa and sponsorship fees, submitted the required Form DS-260, the immigrant visa electronic application, and Form I-864, the affidavit of support under INA section 213A, and uploaded the necessary civil documents. In other words, the applicant must be classified as "documentarily complete."

The NVC website states that expedite requests will be considered only for "life-or-death medical emergencies." This typically involves the health of the petitioner rather than the immigrant visa applicant. However, NVC in practice will consider other expedite grounds, including:

• Other humanitarian factors;

• The applicant or petitioner is the victim of a serious crime;

• A child is about to age out (not protected by the Child Status Protection Act);

• The petitioner has a health problem requiring the applicant's care;

• Or the request meets the "national interest."

Expedite requests must be sent to the designated email address: [email protected], and must be a formal request containing detailed information about the emergency, including:

• Immigrant visa case number (in the subject line);

• Invoice ID number;

• Petitioner's name and date of birth;

• Beneficiary's (applicant's) name and date of birth, and whether it is a medical emergency;

• A statement from a doctor or medical institution, including their contact information and explaining why a medical emergency exists.

Expedite requests should be approved or denied within 30-45 days. If the expedite request is approved, NVC will forward the case file directly to the consulate for interview scheduling.

Expedited Immigrant Visa Interview with the Consulate

Each consulate has its own criteria and procedures for authorizing expedite requests. However, most consulates are not limited to life-or-death medical emergencies; they consider requests on a case-by-case basis and will consider other humanitarian factors. These may include minor children stranded, family members unable to be interviewed together, or the applicant being a relative of a U.S. Armed Forces member.

For example, at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, the procedure for submitting an expedite appointment request is described on its website. Immigrant visa applicants residing in Mexico may qualify for expedited scheduling if:

• The applicant is the spouse or child of an active-duty U.S. Armed Forces member;

• The applicant, petitioner, or the applicant's minor child has a life-threatening medical or other emergency requiring the applicant to travel to the United States immediately;

• Within the next six months, the applicant may age out and lose eligibility for the visa category or other benefits (assuming the applicant is not protected by the Child Status Protection Act);

• The biological or legally adopted child of a U.S. citizen (usually IR-2), about to turn 18, residing in the United States in the physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent, and eligible for derivative citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act.

Another useful website is the U.S. Visa and Appointment Service website, where one can click on a specific consulate to obtain information on submitting an expedite appointment request. As with expedite requests submitted to USCIS or NVC, requests submitted to a consulate are evaluated by a consular officer on a case-by-case basis, and the decision cannot be appealed.

It is important to recognize that requests to expedite petition processing or immigrant visa interview scheduling are granted only in extraordinary circumstances. These requests should be documented, but not over-documented. For example, if your request is based on medical need, obtain a letter from the doctor stating how long the doctor has treated your client, what the diagnosis is, when it was made, and what medications are needed to manage the condition. But do not submit lengthy medical reports. If the request is based on personal considerations, submit a statement from your client briefly describing the situation. Remember that NVC updates its timeframes weekly. If no response is received within the published timeframe, consider resubmitting your request. Given the high volume of cases, the consulate in Ciudad Juarez generally takes longer to respond to expedite requests, while other consulates respond more quickly.