AAO Processing Times (July 1, 2012)

Our office has established a reputation as one of the leading practices for handling appeals with the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) and we often receive inquiries not only  about the procedural aspects of an AAO appeal but also about the current processing times for AAO cases.    The AAO processing times are published monthly, at the beginning of the month, and we are providing monthly updates and analysis for the benefit of our clients and readers.

About the AAO

The AAO is an appeals office which handles appeals of certain decisions made by USCIS field offices and regional processing centers.  The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires that all AAO decisions be made available to the public.  As a result, AAO decisions are accessible in reading rooms at USCIS headquarters here in Washington, DC and at field offices.  Also, some (but not all) AAO decisions are available online.

Current AAO Processing Times

USCIS has released the average processing times for cases pending at the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) as of July 1, 2012.  Read the full AAO Processing Times report.

Among the most notable AAO processing times:

  • H-1B appeal takes 17 months (decrease, or improvement, of one month compared to our last report as of May 1, 2012);
  • L-1 appeal takes 22 months (no change);
  • I-140 EB-1 Extraordinary Ability takes 10 months (improvement of four month), Multinational Manager or Executive takes 18 months (improvement of three months) while EB-1 Outstanding Professor or Researcher category is current (defined as 6 months or less);
  • I-140 EB-2 (Advanced Degree) takes 12 months (a significant improvement by 9 months) while EB-2 (NIW) is current (no change); and
  • I-140 EB-3 Skilled Worker takes 35 months (increase by 1 month) while EB-3 Other Worker is current (6 months or less) on appeal (no change).
Conclusion
The AAO processing times for at least some of the categories (EB-2, for example) have been improving notably over the past few months.   We are very pleased to see that the AAO is now processing I-140 EB-2 cases in one year (in comparison to close to three years recently).   We notice that AAO processing times remain steady across many of the other types of cases.     We hope that the notable trend of improvement in the processing times in EB-2 appeals would continue and spread to other types of cases as well, specifically EB-3, where the current wait is around 3 years.

If our office can be of any assistance regarding AAO representation or consultation, please contact us.  Also, please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to receive updates and immigration news.

By | Last Updated: May 20th, 2017| Categories: AAO, Articles, I-290B, News|

About the Author: Dimo Michailov

Dimo Michailov
Dimo has over 15 years of experience in US immigration including employment-based immigration benefits, corporate compliance and family based immigration. He represents corporate and individual clients in a wide range of cross-border immigration matters including mobility of key foreign executives and managers, specialized knowledge workers, and foreign nationals with extraordinary ability.

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The Capitol Immigration Law Group has been serving the business community for over 15 years and is one of the most widely respected immigration law firms focused solely on U.S. employment-based immigration.   Disclaimer:  we make all efforts to provide timely and accurate information; however, the information in this article may become outdated or may not be applicable to a specific set of facts.  It is not to be construed as legal advice.