Government Security News January 2017 Digital Edition

USCIC updates how processing
times are posted
Continued from page 12
create 47,000 jobs each year, for 30
years.
The recommendation FRA released
today is just that – a recommendation
for what FRA believes
the Northeast Corridor could be
in the future. In fact, it will now be
up to states, cities and railroads to
take next steps and decide whether
to move forward with any specific
projects. Each individual project,
just like any other infrastructure
project in this country, will require
more review and more environmental
studies, as well as significant
funding.
“In order to keep moving forward,
we need a new vision for the Northeast
Corridor – a corridor that can
move an ever-increasing population
safer, faster and more reliably
than before,” said FRA Administrator
Sarah E. Feinberg. “We need
Click to view the video “NEC Future”
a corridor that provides more options
and more trains for commuters.
One that allows for seamless
travel between the nation’s capital
and New York, and New York and
Providence and Boston. A corridor
that provides streamlined connections
between a city’s airports and
its city center. And a corridor that
can efficiently and reliably serve a
population that is growing quickly.”
FRA believes that today’s recommendation
is a strong one and
should move forward. To do that,
it will require the business community,
railroads, states, Congress
and the millions of people who use
the NEC every day to make it clear
that this is a necessary and worthy
investment.
For more information, visit www.
necfuture.com
49
cember 29, 2016 based on data as of
October 31, 2016.
The Administrative Appeals Office
(AAO) of USCIS also announced that
it had modified how it presents its
processing time information on appeals
cases. In the past, AAO provided
information on the average completion
time for the month’s cases. Now,
AAO will provide the total number
of completions for the quarter and
the percentage completed within its
180 day goal, by form type and case
type. The 180 day goal begins after
the office that issued the unfavorable
decision forwards the case to AAO,
which is supposed to be done within
45 days. However, this initial field review
can take longer. This means the
AAO’s figures don’t reflect the total
time for completion of a case.
Processing times are important
pieces of information since employers,
individuals, family members, and
their attorneys need to know how
long an application or petition will
take to be adjudicated. Delays can
have serious implications for many
people. Now that USCIS has raised
its fees significantly, hopefully more
progress will be made towards resolving
delays and making their processes
more transparent.