The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS) is a critical arm of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
The USCIS handles the majority of immigration applications that are requested of the United States federal government.
According to the organization’s mission statement the USCIS:
“Administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.”
The mission statement of the USCIS changed a few months after President Donald Trump was elected. The focus is on enforcing immigration laws while securing the homeland.
How the USCIS Completes Your Immigration Applications
The USCIS completes 26,000 applications for immigration benefits on any given day.
The organization has 19,000 employees around the country. These officers are tasked with completing applications for all immigration benefits including applications for permanent residency (green card), naturalization, green card renewal, petitions for family members, asylum/refugee cases and many more.
In order to apply for any immigration benefit, you must complete a form that coincides with the immigration benefit you want.
The USCIS provides forms free of charge on its website. They provide instructions on how to complete the forms and the rest is up to you.
Outside of long instructions, the USCIS provides minimal assistance on how to complete these sensitive immigration forms.
If a form is improperly completed the USCIS will likely reject your application. A rejection can lead to delays in completing your application.
In 2014, the USCIS processed 7.7 million applications for immigration benefits and more than 600,000 of those applications were rejected. The USCIS rejects applications mainly because they are not completed correctly, they’re missing signatures or include the incorrect processing fee.
If your application is accepted, an immigration officer will review your qualifications, complete a background check, request more evidence (if necessary), schedule an interview and ultimately approve your immigration benefit.
It’s no secret the process can be slow. As of April 2018, an application for naturalization handled in Los Angeles, CA can take anywhere from nine and a half to 14 months to complete.
An Organization Behind the Times
As of April 2018, the USCIS still mainly operates through paper forms. Only a handful of applications are available online. The main offerings being, Form I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card and N-400 Application for Naturalization.
The majority of their applications must be filled out by hand or typed on a computer and mailed into their offices.
FileRight Vs the USCIS
FileRight believes there’s a better, easier and more efficient way to complete your immigration paperwork.
FileRight offers a variety of immigration applications available to be completed online, something the USCIS does not offer for all applications. Although available online, our service is drastically different than what the federal government offers.
The USCIS merely provides a vessel for you to complete your form, while FileRight’s mission is to ensure your application is accepted and approved for the immigration benefit you are seeking.
How FileRight Enables Your Success
One feature our customers enjoy is checking their eligibility for a specific immigration benefit before starting the application.
For most applications, the USCIS offers a list of requirements you need to meet in order to apply for certain immigration benefits. It’s up to you to figure out if you’re eligible. If you fill out the wrong application or are not eligible to apply, your application will likely be rejected by the USCIS.
FileRight simplifies that process by asking you a series of simple questions that assess your eligibility before you start filling out the application.
FileRight’s most popular applications include:
- Green card renewal or replacement, Form I-90.
- Citizenship, Form N-400 Application for Naturalization.
- Petition a Relative, Form I-130 and I-485.
- Green Card Through Family, Form I-130 and I-485.
After successfully completing your eligibility quiz you can begin to fill out your application.
As you complete your application online through FileRight, the software is constantly checking your application for common errors that could lead to rejections from the USCIS.
The software also simplifies complex immigration questions for the purpose of presenting them in a way that’s far easier to understand than what’s offered by the government.
Here’s a real-life example. FileRight customer Carmen recently used the software to complete her brother’s green card renewal application. In the past, she would complete Form I-90 the old way.
After completing the application using FileRight, Carmen had this to say about the service,
“I’m more confident doing it on my own. Oh man, it was great, so self-explanatory.”
Carman says she’s now pushing her brother to complete his naturalization application using FileRight to end the cycle of green card renewal.
FileRight can also help you find affordable access to an immigration attorney to review your applications. These attorneys take your review to the next level by checking for:
- Eligibility to file for the immigration benefit sought.
- Omissions of key information.
- Typographical errors that may delay processing.
- Consistent spelling of names and places throughout.
- Inconsistent, illogical or conflicting dates.
- Entries that conflict with each other.
- Illogical entries.
Once your application is complete FileRight will present you with a filing packet that contains detailed instructions on how to organize your application and where to sign each necessary form.
These step-by-step instructions make filing your application easy and help ensure the USCIS will accept and grant you the benefit you are applying for.
Help When You Need It
Many of our customers have spoken highly of the FileRight’s customer service team. For example, Conrado needed a replacement naturalization certificate after losing his original.
He used FileRight to get the application done correctly and had a positive experience dealing with FileRight’s customer service team.
It’s important to note that FileRight’s customer service team members are not attorneys. Meaning they cannot give you legal advice or comment on your particular case.
FileRight’s customer service team is available 24 hours a day at (855) 345-3744.
Now that you’ve learned all about what FileRight offers, choose the application you’d like to complete and get started with the free eligibility quiz.
