Immigration Blog

The following is not legal advice.  Call your lawyer to discuss the specifics of your case.  Here’s the latest news I have gathered on this debacle relating to those who have filed or plan to file their I-485 applications in July:

1.    For those who filed their I-140 Petitions and I-485 Applications concurrently and enclosed separate filing fee checks, the I-140 and supporting documents will be accepted by the CIS for processing and the I-485 and supporting documents and applications will be rejected and returned to the applicant with the filing fee checks;

2.    All I-485 Applications filed (even those received by the CIS on Monday July 2, 2007, before the revised visa bulletin was issued) WILL be rejected.  Filing fee checks will be returned.  The CIS has notified the public not to file.  Why will many lawyers be filing anyway?  See number 3…
3.    With proof of delivery, proof of rejection by the CIS, and evidence that a complete application was submitted to the CIS in hand, many lawyers will recommend to their clients that they be plaintiffs in a lawsuit that will probably be filed by AILF.  Those who were arguably entitled to file their I-485 applications (per the first July visa bulletin) but failed to do so, may not be eligible for a remedy.
4.    If EB numbers are unavailable, green card applications will not be approved until after such numbers become available.  However, either through settlement of through a judge’s order, interim benefits such as Employment Authorization Documents and Advance Parole (travel documents) may be made available to plaintiffs in the lawsuit.  The other possible advantageous outcome would be if those who participate in the lawsuit kept their original filing dates and were therefore ahead in the queue for EB numbers when they become available for their category.  Of course, this is all highly speculative at this point.  I will continue to update as more news becomes available.

Please see the link to the DOS to the left regarding the unavailability of EB numbers beginning  on July 2, 2007 (today).  Also please see the note from our friends at the USCIS regarding this development.  Numbers for all Employment-Based categories will be unavailable through at least October 1, 2007.

This is an unprecedented and unfair action by the government that will have to be resolved through litigation. I will post information on how to request to be a plaintiff in the lawsuit that will be filed by AILF (American Immigration Law Foundation) as soon as it becomes available.

This is the million dollar question. Many immigration lawyers and their staffs were working throughout the weekend filing as many I-485 applications as possible in the hopes that if the EB numbers retrogress, that cases received by the Service Center prior to the official notice of the retrogression (via a revised visa bulletin or whatever other concoction the government may come up with to reject cases) would be accepted for processing. Many cases will be filed this week, regardless of the guidance received. If cases are rejected, applicants may want to talk to their lawyers about the possibility joining a lawsuit that will probably be filed by AILF.

If numbers are not available but I-485 cases are accepted for processing, interim benefits such as work authorization and travel documents may be available while the adjustment application is pending. However, green cards will not be issued until the numbers become available.

I-485 cases filed should include all supporting documentation with the initial filing as the CIS will likely be looking for reasons to reject cases that are not necessarily related to the priority date not being current.

Cases with priority dates earlier than those posted in the DOS June Visa Bulletin (except in the EB3 Other Workers/Unskilled Workers category) that were properly filed, should be accepted for processing.

We should have more news on this craziness today or tomorrow.

A Disclaimer:  I know this is a hot button issue, so I ask that you please contact your immigration lawyer related to the specifics of your case before taking (or choosing not to take) any course of action.  This blog is for general information and news and nothing herein should be construed as legal advice.
The consensus seems to be that regardless of what the DOS and/or CIS may or may not do with the July visa bulletin, those who are eligible should file their I-485 applications in July for a couple of reasons:  (1) the numbers may not retrogress in which case it would be a shame to lose the opportunity to file; and (2) even if the numbers become unavailable, there is almost guaranteed to be a lawsuit against the agencies for which remedies may only be available for those who actually filed and whose cases were rejected.

We should have more official news early next week and will keep you posted.

The DOS may revise its July visa bulletin and make all or some of the EB categories unavailable for July as early as Monday or Tuesday of next week. Should this occur, the literally thousands of people who are trying to immigrate LEGALLY will have been taken for a ride. When the July visa bulletin came out mid-June, competent immigration lawyers were advising their clients to get their medical examinations, passport photos and questionnaires ready to proceed and file in a timely manner (before the end of July).

Should the CIS reject those cases that will be filed based on the DOS Visa Bulletin (which according to the existing regulations and memos they should accept) lawsuits will be filed against the agencies, but how will that help those who “played by the rules”? They can get back in line. This system is a miserable failure.

Those whose cases are rejected may be able to join a class-action that may be filed by AILF if cases end up being rejected if and when the State Department amends its July visa bulletin. Stay tuned.

According to the July Department of State Visa Bulletin, Employment-Based visa numbers for all categories (except other workers) are current for July.  However, there is now speculation that the USCIS may determine that numbers are unavailable before the end of July.  This is based on the CIS rejecting I-485 applications in June for the other workers category with priority dates before October 1, 2001 that were filed after June 5, 2007 because the CIS determined that the number of available visas had been exhausted by that time.

This means that we will be rushing to try to file I-485 cases as early as possible in July to increase the chances that these cases will be accepted for processing.  The American Immigration Lawyers Association hasx written a letter to the CIS advising the agency that AILA believes their actions in June were unacceptable and contrary to existing regulations and CIS Field Guidance Memos.

As promised, more news already.  The USCIS issued a memo stating that between July 2, 2007 and August 1, 2007, it will temporarily stop accepting cases filed using its Premium Processing Service (PPS).   PPS is the service in which the CIS will, in most cases, adjudicate or issue a Request for Additional Evidence on a case within 15 calendar days for an additional $1000 filing fee.

The Senate voted against invoking closure on the CIR bill this morning.  This probably lays the issue to rest until after the Presidential election.  The topic will likely be too hot to touch before then.  This is just another example of Congress failing to deal with a tough issue.  Hopefully the tide will turn with the next attempt.

I will therefore shift the focus of my blog back to current immigration-related news and developments, and there are many.  Even without a complete overhaul of the system, new cases, regulations and interpretive memos from various agencies are published almost daily.

A link to the CNN.com story on the failure of the Senate to pass this bill can be found to the left.

After some procedural wrangling, most amendments to the Immigration bill that were debated in the Senate today were defeated. Tomorrow the senators will vote on cloture. If 60 Senators vote for cloture (to end debate), then the bill will be up for a final vote by the end of this week. If fewer than 60 Senators vote to invoke cloture, CIR will probably not come about until after the Presidential election.

The bill being debated contains hundreds of pages of provisions, some good, some not. However, any immigration bill that seeks to overhaul our broken system will have its critics. Hopefully those Senators who voted yesterday to bring the bill back for debate, will vote to invoke cloture tomorrow and vote for passage of the bill on Friday so that this process can move forward. If your Senators are on the fence, please call them tomorrow morning and encourage them to vote to invoke cloture.

The Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill returns to be debated by the Senate this week.   With both Congress’ and the President’s approval ratings in the gutter and complaints about the bill coming from both sides of the political spectrum, will CIR pass?  The recent ICE raids around the country with stories of the government deporting single mothers and in one case allegedly deporting a mentally-ill US Citizen to Mexico demonstrates just how inefficient and undesirable an enforcement-only approach to a multi-faceted problem can be.

Will Congress manage to do something for the good of the country or will the Senators and Representatives who try to obstruct the progress of a solution to our immigration crisis prevail?  I will be following the debate closely and will provide my analysis, opinion and commentary in the coming days.