There’s nothing more frustrating than feeling like your USCIS case is dragging on forever. If you’re in this situation, you’re not alone. Many people experience delays in their immigration processes, especially given the backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But don’t worry, I will provide you with three practical steps to help speed up your USCIS case if it’s outside the normal processing times.
Before you take any steps, it’s essential to confirm that your case is indeed outside the normal processing times. Here’s how you can do that:
If your case is within normal processing times, you’ll need to wait. If it’s outside the normal processing window, proceed to the next steps.
If your case is taking longer than usual, your first course of action should be to request USCIS to expedite your case. Here’s how:
It’s important to be persistent and patient. You might need to navigate through hold music and automated messages, but once you reach a representative, clearly state your request.
If contacting USCIS doesn’t yield results, the next step is to reach out to your federal senator. Senators have the power to inquire on your behalf and can sometimes accelerate the process. Here’s how you can do it:
Bonus Tip: Immigration processes can be notoriously slow, and the pandemic has only exacerbated these delays. It’s crucial to remain patient and persistent throughout this journey. While the wait can be challenging, following these steps can help ensure that your case receives the attention it deserves.
Hillary Walsh is one of America’s foremost immigration attorneys — a nationally recognized advocate whose career has been built case by case, client by client, in the most challenging corners of immigration law.
For over a decade, Hillary has represented immigrants, asylum seekers, trafficking survivors, and families facing deportation in proceedings before the Ninth, Sixth, and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and immigration courts across the country. Her legal expertise spans removal defense, asylum, VAWA, T Visa, U Visa, green cards, and naturalization — the full breadth of immigration law, with particular depth in protection-based relief for vulnerable populations.
Her work has reached the highest levels of American jurisprudence. Hillary was invited to author an amicus curiae brief for a U.S. Supreme Court case — a distinction extended to attorneys whose command of immigration law is recognized at the national level.
Hillary founded New Frontier Immigration Law in 2019 with a simple but radical belief: that every person deserves a fighting chance, and that there is a solution for every problem. That legal philosophy has guided thousands of client outcomes across Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and communities nationwide.
She doesn’t just represent clients in immigration court; she shapes how immigration law is argued, understood, and applied.
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