Chamber Hails Effort to Reduce Immigration Backlog

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce applauded the release of an updated Backlog Reduction Plan by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), as part of the Department of Homeland Security.

"Delays and backlogs hurt U.S. businesses ability to hire and retain needed workers, accommodate necessary international travel for executives and managers, and compete in an ever more mobile world," said Randel K. Johnson, Vice President of Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits. "Our immigration service needs to be able to work at the speed of business, not the speed of bureaucracy."

In the plan, the subject of testimony today before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims by USCIS Director Eduardo Aguirre, the agency has committed to reduce the processing time of all petitions and applications for immigration benefits, such as green cards, work authorizations and petitions for temporary workers, to six months or fewer.

Director Aguirre admitted that currently approximately 60 percent of its pending cases could be considered "backlog, having been pending for longer than the stated goals." This represents a total backlog of 3.7 million cases.

Some of the improvement initiatives outlined in the plan include pre-certification of established employers filing petitions for workers, reducing unnecessary requests for additional information, and implementing quality assurance programs.

"This plan represents a very important first step in the long road toward establishing a timely, efficient, and security immigration process for the United States," said Johnson. "We look forward to working with Director Aguirre and his staff at USCIS in enduring that these ambitious goals can be met."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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