10/26/2006

The USCIS has been undertaking reengineering of the filing, processing, and adjudication of applications under the name of bi-specialization program. New Nonimmigrant Petitions of I-129 and related I-539 applications should be filed with VSC and adjudicated by either VSC or CSC depending on the types of cases. New Immigrant petitions of I-140 petitions and related I-485 applications, I-765 EAD applications, and I-131 Advance Parole applications, should be filed with NSC and adjudicated by either NSC or TSC.

All the petitions and related applications of nonimmigrant and immigrant cases which were pending at one of the four Service Centers were supposed to be continuously processed and adjudicated by the Service Center where the cases had been pending.

After August 2006, filing of all the I-485 applications, no matter whether they were concurrent filing or stand-alone filing should to go the NSC. Accordingly, all the new I-485 applications had to be filed with the NSC even if their I-140 petitions had been pending in other Service Centers. Along with this changes, the applications of EAD and Advance Parole which are ancillary to the I-485 applications also had to be filed with the Service Center where their I-485 applications were filed and pending.

The Bi-Specialization Programs have caused a tremendous confusion. Regardless of the bi-specialization programs, the Service Centers have been moving around and transferring files among the Service Centers to manage the caseloads of each Service Center, people will just have to keep their eyes wide open and watch carefully all the changes that take place almost daily in the immigration proceedings.