New data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows denials for all immigration benefits have increased sharply during the past year. Nevertheless, the Alcorn Immigration Law team has maintained its more than 95 percent client success rate.
Denial rates for all immigration petitions during the first nine months of fiscal year 2018 (October 2017 through June 2018) jumped 43 percent from fiscal year 2017, according to data released by USCIS. FY 2018 has seen the highest denial rate since FY 2013, the earliest data available. The Cato Institute, a public policy think tank, recently issued an assessment of the USCIS data. It estimates USCIS will deny about 155,000 more immigration applications in FY 2018 than in FY 2016.
Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions
The denial rate for Form I-129 (Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions) increased to 22 percent during the first nine months of FY 2018. That’s the highest level on record. applying for several visas including H-1B, H-2A, L-1, and O visas require Form I-129.
Employment Authorization
The denial rate for Form I-765 (Employment Authorization Document) for applying for work permits nearly doubled to 9 percent during the first nine months of FY 2018 from FY 2017.
Employment-Based Adjustments
The denial rate for employment-based filings of Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) jumped to 8 percent during the first nine months of FY 2018. That’s close to the highest denial rate on record in FY 2013.
Proven Success
Keep in mind that while denial rates are on the rise, USCIS still approves more than 85 percent of the immigration applications it receives.
The Alcorn Immigration Law team has a proven process for success, which has enabled us to maintain our 95-plus percent success rate. We start with a needs assessment and strategy discussion and cover everything through to monitoring processing and addressing any Requests for Evidence (RFE) once we file a petition with USCIS. We care. We’re creative. And we deliver on time.
Reach out to us if we can make the Alcorn Immigration Method work for you. If you found this information helpful, please let us know in the comments section below.