What is a USCIS service center?

A service center is a processing unit of USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) responsible for receiving, recording, and reviewing immigration petitions, including those for EB-2 NIW. Unlike a field office, a service center does not conduct interviews: it handles the documentary review of petitions submitted by mail or electronically.

USCIS distributes this work among regional units to manage the volume of petitions. In practice, this means that:

• Your case is assigned to a center based on the petition type and the agency’s internal criteria.
• It is the service center that reviews the evidence and may issue an RFE (Request for Evidence) when it determines that something is missing.
• Communication is typically in writing, so keeping your address and contact information up to date is important.

Knowing which unit is handling your case helps you track its progress and understand where notifications originate. Since the internal structure and distribution may change, always check USCIS official channels to confirm information about your case.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.