Law IMM Analysis:
With the U.S. Department of State’s publication of the May 2023 Visa Bulletin, the USCIS has decided it will continue to use the Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications table. This is a continuation from the April 2023 visa bulletin’s filing table. This is also a reflection of the tightening in the visa numbers in employment-based immigrant visas in general, with EB-2 retrogression for Rest of the World Countries, as well as India, Mexico, and the Philippines, and not to mention further retrogression in the EB-4 category for all countries.
Our Analysis: With the U.S. Department of State’s publication of the April 2023 Visa Bulletin, the USCIS has decided it will use the Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications table. This is a change from the March 2023 visa bulletin’s filing table. This is also a reflection of the tightening in the visa numbers in employment-based immigrant visas in general, with EB-2 retrogression for Rest of the World Countries, as well as India, Mexico, and the Philippines, and not to mention further retrogression in the EB-4 category for all countries.
During the lengthy process of applying for lawful permanent residency cases, there are often many cases of children who age-out and can no longer be included as part of the filing.
Our Analysis: With the U.S. Department of State’s publication of the March 2023 Visa Bulletin, the USCIS has decided it will continue to follow the Dates for Filing for Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications. This is a continuation of the February 2023 visa bulletin’s filing table.
Our Analysis: USCIS has announced that it is further extending the combined use of the I-797 filing receipt notices that are issued after the filing of I-751 petition to remove conditions on residence, and I-829 petition by entrepreneur to remove conditions on permanent resident status, along with the expiring Permanent Resident Card, from the previous 24 months to new 48 months past the expiration of the Permanent Resident Card. This change started on January 11, 2023 for Form I-829, and it starts on January 25, 2023 for Form I-751.
Our Analysis: With the U.S. Department of State’s publication of the February 2023 Visa Bulletin, the USCIS has decided it will continue to follow the Dates for Filing for Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications. This is a continuation of the January 2023 visa bulletin’s filing table.
Our Analysis: With the U.S. Department of State’s publication of the January 2023 Visa Bulletin, the USCIS has decided it will continue to follow the Dates for Filing for Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications. This is a continuation of the December 2022 visa bulletin’s filing table.
Ourcomment: In a recent meeting held between the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the USCIS informed AILA that it is expanding potential interview waivers for family-based adjustment of status applications. Because of the potential waiver of interviews in these particular types of cases, USCIS has asked AILA to convey to their clients and applicants in general that the I-485 Adj. of Status applicant should include the Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (sealed medical report), concurrently at the time of filing of the initial I-485 adjustment of status application. By doing so, it will avoid a need for USCIS to issue a Request for Further Evidence (RFE), which would delay the USCIS’s processing and adjudication time.
Our Analysis: USCIS has announced that starting on December 12, 2022, it is updating its USCIS Policy Manual to allow USCIS to automatically extend the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (‘Green Cards’) for lawful permanent residents who have applied for naturalization to become U.S. citizens.
