NO RECEIPTS YET FOR JULY I-485 EB FILINGS PER THE JULY 2007 VISA BULLETIN

I know that all of the EB I-485 filers who filed in July pursuant to the July visa bulletin are anxiously awaiting news on their cases.  Our office has received Receipt Notices for cases filed through the end of June but none for July.  Nor have any filing fee checks for cases filed in July been processed by our bank as of today.

From this anecdotal evidence and from what other immigration lawyers are saying, it seems that the USCIS has not yet started processing current EB July Visa Bulletin cases that were filed in July.  If anyone has any news to the contrary, please let me know.

Author: Bradley Maged

I'm Brad Maged, an immigration lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts. I help people who want to live and work in the United States and companies that wish to employ them. This blog provides opinion and information on developments in immigration law. Thanks for reading!

5 thoughts on “NO RECEIPTS YET FOR JULY I-485 EB FILINGS PER THE JULY 2007 VISA BULLETIN”

  1. As I understand “They” will process cases to issue the receipt notice based on cases arrival date. When “They” actually about to start working in I-485 cases, do “They” sort them by the “Priority Date” or by the “Receipt Notice” date?
    Thanks

  2. Thanks for the question. The USCIS will issue receipt notices based on receipt dates. In theory, the agency will also adjudicate cases in the order in which they were received. However, we have had many cases adjudicated out of order. Current processing times for USCIS applications and petitions can be found at http://www.uscis.gov.

  5. The reason most of us believe that the USCIS did not yet start processing EB July Visa Bulletin applications that were filed in July is because of the shear volume of cases they received in June. Hopefully will start seeing checks processed and Receipt Notices issued this week.

    Priority dates usually do not matter so long as the applicant’s priority date is current at the time of filing. According to the law and how things were done in the past (until last month), your priority date, along with your visa category and nationality, determines whether a visa number is available or whether you must wait. Once your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed in the most recent Visa Bulletin you can be allotted a visa number and have your case processed (i.e., your case is “current”.

    However, given the July Visa Bulletin mess and the government’s solution to the problem, there will likely be an unprecedented volume of applications that will exceed the annual limit. This will probably lead to issues with per country quotas for some applicants that will delay the adjudication of their I-485 applications. Applications for interim benefits will most likely be adjudicated in the order they were received.

    Because the July Visa Bulletin situation is unprecedented, more information is expected to be released as far as time-frame estimates for processing and the volume of applications received.

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