AS you may be aware, the USCIS, in coordination of the Department of State (DOS), announced last September 2015, announced revisions as to the procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file for employment-based or family-sponsored preference adjustment of status. This is part of the implementation of the November 2014 executive actions on immigration announced by President Obama and detailed in the July 2015 White House report, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st century.
Under this new set of procedures, the monthly-issued DOS Visa Bulletin will contain two charts per visa preference category. The first chart contains the “Application Final Action Dates” or the dates when visas may finally be issued. This is the same chart as contained in previous visa bulletins. The second and additional chart will contain the “Dates for Filing Applications” or earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply.
The changes where implemented this month, October 2015 as reflected in the October 2015 visa bulletin (which was later revised). As of this writing, the November 2015 visa bulletin has been released and likewise reflects said changes.
Based on the instructions as reflected in the new visa bulletins, applications for consular processing can assemble and submit the required documents to the National Visa Center (NVC) after receipt of notification from the NVC which will contain detailed instructions provided they have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date in the second chart re “Dates for Filing Applications”. On the other hand, applications who are in the US and will file for adjustment of status will not receive any notice from the NVC and can file an I-485 Adjustment of Status application as long as their priority date is earlier than the cut-off date in the second chart.
These changes are significant because the alien applicant can apply for employment authorization documents, advance parole authorizations, and I-140 immigrant petition portability once the I-485 application is filed. For applicants who are Filipinos, Chinese, Mexicans, and Indians, these changes will be very helpful because the “acceptance” cut-off dates will be several years before the “approval” cut-off dates. They are able to file adjustment of status applications immediately once their priority date is earlier than the “acceptance” cut-off dates.
However, last 10/15/2014, the USCIS clarified that beginning in the November 2015 visa bulletin the chart re “Dates for Filing Applications can only be used if states so in its website: “USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for a fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, we will state on this page that you may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart. Unless otherwise stated on our website, the Application Final Action Date chart will be used to determine when you may file your adjustment of status applications.”
If you are contemplating of filing any immigrant or non-immigration application, it is advisable to seek the counsel of an immigration lawyer to guide you on the intricacies of filing for such a petition.
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Atty. Gwendolyn Malaya-Santos is a member of the State Bar of California and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. To schedule for a free initial in-person consultation, please call Tel. Nos. (213) 284-5984 or (626) 329-8215. Atty. Santos’ office is located at 3450 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1200-105, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
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Information contained in this article does not, nor is it intended to, constitutes legal advice for any specific situation and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. It likewise does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.
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