Arrive Legal’s latest scrape of USCIS processing data on October 12 reveals that the Service Center Operations Directorate (SCOPS) is still taking 41.5–46 months to adjudicate Form I-601 waivers of inadmissibility, with no improvement since early September. The posted range represents the period in which USCIS completed 80 % of similar cases over the preceding six months. Stability can be good news—backlogs are not worsening—but a nearly four-year wait remains untenable for families and employers. I-601 applicants typically include spouses of U.S. citizens barred by prior unlawful presence or criminal grounds; for multinational companies, the waiver often affects long-tenured managers who triggered inadmissibility by overstaying during earlier assignments. The stagnant timeline contrasts with modest gains in some employment-based forms: I-129 (H-1B) petitions processed at the Texas Service Center dropped to a median 2.8 months last week, underscoring USCIS’s policy choice to prioritise fee-funded work visas over humanitarian waivers. Practically, employers planning international assignments should budget for waiver contingencies far in advance or explore alternatives such as L-1 or E-2 routes that avoid inadmissibility triggers. Counsel also remind applicants that once the posted inquiry date (currently 18 Dec 2022) passes, they may file an e-Request to prompt case review—sometimes shaving months off adjudication. USCIS has not signalled additional staffing or premium-processing expansion for I-601. Stakeholders continue to lobby Congress for supplemental funding tied to fee reform, but prospects remain uncertain heading into an election year.
Source: Arrive Legal
