USCIS just released the Visa Bulletin for April 2023. The Final Action Dates are to be used for the April Visa Bulletin. Under the Final Action Dates, the EB-2 priority dates for all countries have retrogressed. The EB-1 priority dates for China and India have once again retrogressed.
The EB-2 priority dates for all countries other than China and India have retrogressed from December 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022. Meaning if your I-140 was filed after July 1, 2022, starting April 1, 2023 you will no longer be able to file an adjustment of status until such time as the priority dates move forward in the future. We anticipate based on what limited information is available that priority dates won’t become current under EB-2 until the beginning of the new fiscal year in October.
The EB-2 priority dates for China have changed from July 18, 2019 to June 18, 2019 and India has gone backward from May 1, 2012 to January 1, 2011
The EB-1 priority dates for China and India both retrogressed from June 1, 2022 to February 1, 2022. The EB-1 priority dates for all other countries remain current.
For persons who have an EB-2 I-140 pending that was filed between July 1 and December 1, 2022 you only have a few days to get everything prepared and filed. You do not have to provide the I-693 medical exam when you file and can provide it later, which will save some time and allow you to get the I-485 timely filed.
If you are on a J-1, an F-1, or OPT you need to carefully consider your timeline with respect to filing the I-485 as it could negatively impact your ability to obtain or renew your status or obtain work authorization. For those of you whose status will expire between now and October, you should seriously consider filing your adjustment of status now.
EB-2 Retrogression
/by Jim ArkellUSCIS just released the Visa Bulletin for April 2023. The Final Action Dates are to be used for the April Visa Bulletin. Under the Final Action Dates, the EB-2 priority dates for all countries have retrogressed. The EB-1 priority dates for China and India have once again retrogressed.
The EB-2 priority dates for all countries other than China and India have retrogressed from December 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022. Meaning if your I-140 was filed after July 1, 2022, starting April 1, 2023 you will no longer be able to file an adjustment of status until such time as the priority dates move forward in the future. We anticipate based on what limited information is available that priority dates won’t become current under EB-2 until the beginning of the new fiscal year in October.
The EB-2 priority dates for China have changed from July 18, 2019 to June 18, 2019 and India has gone backward from May 1, 2012 to January 1, 2011
The EB-1 priority dates for China and India both retrogressed from June 1, 2022 to February 1, 2022. The EB-1 priority dates for all other countries remain current.
For persons who have an EB-2 I-140 pending that was filed between July 1 and December 1, 2022 you only have a few days to get everything prepared and filed. You do not have to provide the I-693 medical exam when you file and can provide it later, which will save some time and allow you to get the I-485 timely filed.
If you are on a J-1, an F-1, or OPT you need to carefully consider your timeline with respect to filing the I-485 as it could negatively impact your ability to obtain or renew your status or obtain work authorization. For those of you whose status will expire between now and October, you should seriously consider filing your adjustment of status now.
USCIS Announces Premium Processing for Certain F-1 Students
/by Jim ArkellUSCIS continues to implement new procedures that ensure increased efficiency. Beginning March 6th, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests for certain F-1 students who already have a pending Form I-765 if they fall under one of the following categories: pre-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT); post-completion OPT; and 24-month extension of OPT for STEM students. Beginning April 3rd, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests for F-1 students in the previous categories when filed along with Form I-765. Additionally, online filing of Form I-907, the Request for Premium Processing Service, will now also be made available to F-1 students in these categories. The availability of premium processing for F-1 students in these categories, as well as the convenience of online filing, will reduce backlog and streamline the process for students.
NIW Premium Processing Now Available
/by Jim ArkellUSCIS has just announced that it is implementing the final phase of the premium processing expansion for EB-2 NIW I-140 petitions. Effective January 30, 2023 a new NIW can be filed with premium processing. If you have a pending NIW petition you can request premium processing, regardless of when your case was filed.
Until the EB-2 category for adjustment of status becomes current again, in most cases, it probably doesn’t make sense to file a new NIW with premium processing. However, NIW petitions filed prior to December 1, 2022 are current for adjustment of status purposes and may benefit from premium processing depending on individual circumstances.
If you are interested in pursuing premium processing or are uncertain as to whether it makes sense to do so, please feel free to contact us.
EB-1 Retrogression for India and China effective January 2023 – EB2 remains unchanged
/by Jim ArkellThe recently released Visa Bulletin for January 2023 shows that the EB-1 priority date for Indian and Chinese nationals has retrogressed to June 1, 2022 based on the Dates of Filing. The priority dates for the EB-2 category remain unchanged with the priority date for India set at May 1, 2012, China July 8, 2019 and all other countries are December 1, 2022.
EB-2 Priority Date Retrogression for December 2022
/by Jim ArkellThe recently released Visa Bulletin for December 2022 indicates that the EB-2 visa category will retrogress starting December 1, 2022. This means that concurrent filing will no longer be available for EB-2 based I-140 filings. The priority date under Dates of Filing is now December 1, 2022. The EB-2 priority dates for India and China remain unchanged.
USCIS EXTENDS FILING DEADLINES
/by Jim ArkellUSCIS has again extended filing deadlines. The filing deadlines were extended until January 24, 2023. This means that there is an automatic extension of 60 days available to file a response to a Request for Evidence or a Notice of Intent to Deny, among other Notices and Requests issued between March 1, 2020 and January 24, 2023. Additionally the filing of an I-290B Notice of Appeal or Motion is considered timely if filed up to 90 days from the issuance of a decision made between November 1, 2021 and January 24, 2023.
UPDATE: EB2 NIW Premium Processing
/by Jim ArkellThe new filing date upon which Premium Processing can be requested for a pending EB-2 NIW is February 1, 2022. The USCIS premium processing fee is $2500.00 and you will get a decision back within 45 days. We have filed several requests for premium processing on behalf of our clients with pending NIW petitions and have had positive results, with the approval in many of them being issued within less than a week. If your I-140 was filed on or before February 1, 2022, and you are interested in requesting premium processing for your case please contact us.
October 2022 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 Retrogression For India – All others remain Current or Advance
/by Jim ArkellConcurrent with the announcement that all green cards had been allocated for the EB-1 and EB-2 categories for the current fiscal year, the Visa Bulletin for October was also released. The priority dates for EB-1 and EB-2 were unchanged for the September Visa Bulletin but there was a significant retrogression for EB-2 priority dates for India. NOTE: September is using the Final Action Dates for Employment Based visas and October is using the Dates for Filing charts.
The EB-1 priority dates for all countries remain current.
The EB-2 priority dates for all countries other than China and India remain current.
The EB-2 priority dates for China move forward from April 1, 2019 to July 8, 2019.
The EB-2 priority dates for India moved back significantly from December 1, 2014 to May 2012.
After making significant progress with the EB-2 priority dates over the past year, going from a Final Action Date of September 1, 2011 to in September 2021 to a Final Action Date of December 1, 2014 in September 2011, this is unexpected and disheartening news for the many thousands of Indian nationals holding an approved EB-2 based I-140. Hopefully the retrogression under the EB-2 category for India will be temporary and the priority dates will advance quickly.
EB-1 and EB-2 Green Cards No Longer Available for Current Fiscal Year
/by Jim ArkellOn September 7, USCIS announced that there are no green cards available for either EB-1 or EB-2 classifications for the remainder of the current fiscal year. This means that green cards will begin being issued again when the next fiscal year begins in October. As such, if you have a pending adjustment of status with an approved I-140, you can anticipate that your green card will be processed after October 1, 2022.
It is important to note that based on the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for all countries remain current for the EB-1 category and priority dates remain current for all countries except China and India under the EB-2 category. There has been no retrogression for September priority dates for any country. If you have an approved I-140 and your priority date is current you can still file your I-485.
If you have any questions about the timing of filing an I-485 please feel to reach out to us.
Signature Flexibility and Extended USCIS Deadlines
/by Jim ArkellUSCIS has announced that the reproduced signature flexibility that was implemented on March 20, 2020, became permanent policy effective on July 25, 2022. On March 20, 2020, USCIS specified that a document may be scanned, faxed, photocopied, or similarly reproduced provided that the copy was of an original document containing an original handwritten signature and that for forms that require an original “wet” signature USCIS would accept electronically reproduced original signatures.
In addition, USCIS also announced that the automatic 60-day extension has been extended to October 23, 2022. This means that any RFE or NOID that was issued on or before October 23, 2022, has an automatic 60-day extension from the due date stated in the RFE or NOID.