December 29, 2004

More on Retrogression

As Greenberg Traurig previously reported, effective January 1, 2005, the 3rd Preference (EB3) category visa for foreign nationals from India, mainland China, and the Philippines will retrogress to January 1, 2002. The USCIS released a memorandum today which reminded the Service Centers of this fact and which rescinds in part previous guidance regarding concurrent filing of I-140 immigrant petitions and I-485 Adjustment of Status Applications. For applicants who are not affected by the retrogression, concurrent filings will continue to be accepted if the visa number is current and available. Those I-485 applications filed by (received by) December 30, 2004 but subsequently affected by the retrogression, will be held by the service center and considered pending until the visa category becomes current. During the pendency of the adjustment application, applicants will be allowed to apply for advance parole and employment authorization benefits. Please refer to the attached memorandum for further guidance on the retrogression. Greenberg Traurig will continue to identify clients in the EB3 category who become eligible to file Adjustment of Status applications as the priority date moves forward in future months. You should contact your immigration counsel for further information on how the retrogression may affect the processing of your permanent residence application.

  USCIS Memorandum (PDF/1.5 mb, 5 pages)