ON September 9, 2015, the government announced that it will now allow individuals who have been waiting for their priority dates to be current both in the family based and employment based category to start their immigrant visa applications or file their applications for adjustment of status earlier. In line with this new policy of the government, the US Department of State will be releasing two separate charts which shall be posted in the visa bulletin. The first chart is the “Final Action Date” which lists down when the priority dates for each preference category and country of chargeability will be current. The second chart is the “Date for Filing Applications” chart which lists down the cutoff dates for those who can start the processing of their immigrant visa applications.
For those individuals who are currently in the United States and are eligible for adjustment of status, they must refer to the “Date for Filing Application” chart if they can now file their application for adjustment of status. If these individuals fall within the cutoff date, they may now file their adjustment of status application with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) even if their priority date listed in the Final Action Date chart is not yet current. With the early filing of an application for adjustment of status, they will be able to obtain an employment authorization document to allow them to work while waiting for their priority date to be current.
To illustrate, an individual is the beneficiary of an immigrant petition filed by his employer under the third preference category. For the Philippines, the US Department of State is processing immigrant visa petitions with the priority date of January 1, 2007. Before the announcement of the new policy, individuals would have to wait for the priority date to be current before they can even file for adjustment of status. With this new policy in place, they can now file for their adjustment of status application if their priority date falls within the cutoff date of January 1, 2015 even if their priority date is not yet current.
For those individuals who are outside the United States, the National Visa Center will be notifying these individuals for them to begin assembling and submitting their documentation to begin the immigrant visa application process.
Individuals who are covered by this new policy may now file their application for adjustment of status this October.
Atty. Dennis E. Chua is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV) a full service law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Manila. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; (916) 449-3923 [email protected].
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Atty. Dennis E. Chua is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV), a full service law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; [email protected]. The CTV Attorneys will be at Max’s Restaurant in Vallejo on October 19, 2009 from 5pm to 7pm to hold a FREE legal clinic.