Analysis of USCIS H, L, O and P Petition Adjudication Statistics for FY2008-FY2010

The Los Angeles Times has requested and been able to obtain statistics from USCIS regarding the adjudication rates for H, L, O and P petitions for the Vermont and California Service Centers since Fiscal Year 2008 (FY2008).   The statistics are current as of July 2010 and provide a very helpful overview of approval, denial and RFE rates.

California Service Center

RFE Trends.  There is much discussion about the California Service Center (CSC) increasing RFE trends.  The numbers indicate that for FY2010 (through July 2010), the CSC RFE rate has remained steady or has decreased with respect to H petitions (20%) while it has increased with respect to L (40%), O (38%) and P (44%) petitions.    While the RFE rate for H petitions seems to have remained steady over the past few years, the RFE rate for L, O and P petitions seems to have increased substantially.

Also, it should be noted that the numbers and rates of RFEs issued do not describe the entire picture.  Anecdotal evidence (supported partially by our office’s direct practice) shows that while the percentages for RFEs for H petitions may have decreased, the length and scope of the RFEs has actually increased.

Approval Trends.  CSC shows a slight increase in approval rates for H petitions (82%), while there is a slight decrease in the approval rates for L (73%), O (80%) and P (73%) petitions.   The overall approval rate for California for FY2010 is 80.5%.

Vermont Service Center

RFE Trends. The  Vermont Service Center (VSC) has noted a significant decrease in RFE rates for H petitions in FY2010 compared to FY2009.  For the current fiscal year, the RFE rate for H petitions is 22% compared to 28% in FY2009.   The RFE rates for L, O and P petitions are 18%, 17% and 15%, respectively.  It should be noted immediately that while the H petition RFE rates for Vermont are similar to the RFE rates in California, the RFE rates in Vermont for L, O and P petitions are substantially lower – by 20-30 percentage points.

The overall RFE rate for VSC is 20.5%, compared to 24% at CSC.

Approval Trends.  The approval rates for VSC are fairly consistent over the past three years.  There is a notable increase in the RFE approval rates in this fiscal year compared to FY2009.  The approval rate for H petitions is 78%, while the approval rates for L, O, and P petitions are 90%, 95% and 96%, respectively.  Compared to California, the H approval rate is slightly lower, while the L, O and P petition approval rates for Vermont are 10-15 percentage points higher for Vermont than California.

Conclusion

While the processing statistics for the past three years allow us to draw some conclusions about a service center’s processing trends, it also dispels some myths and rumors founds often on the Internet.  The numbers, however, confirm that some petitions, most notably L, O and P, face significantly higher chances of an RFE and significantly lower chances of approval in California.

The most notable difference, in the approval rates for L, O and P petitions between Vermont and California is difficult to explain.  In our practice, we review each petition early on with respect to the applicable service center and prepare it accordingly to address any difference in adjudication standards and trends between the Vermont and California Service Centers.