30-Day USCIS RFE Deadlines Are Emerging, Creating New Urgency for EB-1A and EB-2 NIW Petitioners

USA Immigration Company reports seeing the shorter response periods repeatedly as immigration practitioners nationwide document the same shift.

MYRTLE BEACH, SC, UNITED STATES, September 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A Request for Evidence from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may no longer come with the nearly three-month response window many immigration petitioners have come to expect.

Thirty-day RFE deadlines are emerging in employment-based immigration cases following an August 5, 2026 USCIS policy update, a development now being reported by immigration attorneys and observed repeatedly by USA Immigration Company (USAIMCO) over the past month.

For petitioners pursuing EB-1A extraordinary ability or EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) classification, the difference between approximately 84 days and 30 days can be significant.

These RFEs can involve complex questions about a petitioner's evidence, achievements, proposed endeavor, national importance, ability to advance the endeavor, or satisfaction of EB-1A evidentiary criteria. A comprehensive response may require new documentation, research, expert or recommendation letters, government reports, industry evidence, and a detailed response to each concern raised by USCIS.

“Thirty days changes how an RFE has to be approached,” USAIMCO said. “There may no longer be time to receive the notice, put it aside for a few weeks, and then begin deciding how to respond. Petitioners need to look at the actual deadline immediately.”

The experience is not isolated to USA Immigration Company.

On August 25, immigration attorney Kate Kalmykov of Greenberg Traurig reported that her firm was seeing RFEs providing 30 days to respond rather than the 84-day response periods practitioners had commonly received. Other immigration practitioners have since publicly reported shorter RFE timelines, including in EB-1A and EB-2 NIW matters.

USCIS has not created a universal 30-day RFE deadline. The regulatory maximum remains 12 weeks, or 84 days, and response periods can vary by case. The August 5 policy clarified officer discretion to establish an appropriate response period rather than treating the maximum period as an automatic response window.

That distinction is why USAIMCO says petitioners should not rely on experiences from older cases or assume they know their deadline before reading their own notice.

The issue can become even more pressing when a petitioner first learns about an RFE through an online case-status update or electronic notification but does not yet have the physical notice. USCIS itself advises individuals who have not received an issued notice to check Case Status Online and their online account before submitting a non-delivery inquiry.

“If USCIS says an RFE was issued, that is the time to start paying attention,” USAIMCO said. “The deadline printed on the actual notice controls. With a 30-day response period, every week matters.”

The shorter timelines also place greater importance on preparing EB-1A and EB-2 NIW petitions thoroughly from the beginning. USCIS's August 5 policy also expanded officer discretion to deny certain insufficient filings without first providing an opportunity to submit additional evidence through an RFE or Notice of Intent to Deny.

USA Immigration Company recommends that petitioners monitor pending cases closely, obtain RFE notices as quickly as possible, identify every issue USCIS raises, and begin gathering supporting evidence immediately.

About USA Immigration Company
USA Immigration Company, also known as USAIMCO, provides employment-based immigration petition preparation and RFE response support, with a particular focus on EB-1A extraordinary ability and EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions. Its services include petition preparation, proposed endeavor development, professional plans, recommendation letter development, supporting documentation, and RFE response preparation.
USA Immigration Company is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation or legal advice.

For more details contact the USAimco Representative at USA Immigration Company (USAimco):
Phone: +1 866-992-1052
Email: support@usaimco.com
Website: www.USAimco.com

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