U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now transferring some casework from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center. Form I-129, Petition for Non-Immigrant Worker, that the U.S. employers file for foreign workers who hold H-1B speciality occupation worker visas, to extend their stay in the U.S., will now be transferred from the Vermont to the California Service Center.
USCIS will notify the applicants whose cases have been transferred. Notices that USCIS sends will include the transfer date and the name of the service center that will process their cases. This will not delay the processing of cases and the original receipt number will not be changed.
Applicants who receive notices from USCIS will have to wait for a minimum of 21 days for the California Service Center to issue a notice of action. They can check the status of their cases by using the Check My USCIS Case Status tool.
Applicants can contact the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 for information on their cases. They can also use e-Request to submit inquiries. They can make inquiries about the status of their cases if they do not receive decisions on their cases within the processing times that USCIS publishes.
Original receipt numbers must be provided while inquiring about cases. Likewise, when contacting USCIS, applicants need to state that their cases have been transferred to a new location.
People who have filed Form I-129 need to respond to any communication that USCIS sends. They need to provide the required supporting documents if USCIS sends a request for evidence. Likewise, they need to respond to the new service center to which their cases have been transferred and the center that sends them the notice.
Applicants need to remember to a report change of address with USCIS, if they move to a new address while their applications are pending. As the USCIS will send notices by mail, it is mandatory notify the agency of any change of address. This will ensure that they receive any notices that the agency sends.