|
December 28, 2005
Update on Immigrant Visa Number Availability
Greenberg Traurig has learned from sources within the Department of State
(DOS) that the demand for Employment based immigrant visas from I-485 Adjustment
of Status petitions (green card application) filed with USCIS is much lower
than expected. Given this trend, unless there is a sudden change, the DOS
expects movement of the February cut-off dates for visa availability to
be consistent with that of December and January. Between December and January
the priority dates from some categories progressed by one to six months.
Following this trend, we would expect to see the priority dates for the
third preference category to move up to May 2001 for all nationalities except
for China, India, Mexico and the Philippines. For these countries, the projected
priority dates may fall on the following dates (these are only approximates):
- India - October-November 1999
- China- May-June 2001
- Mexico- April 2001
- Philippines- May 2001
The cut-off dates basically establish current priority dates that determine
when a foreign national may proceed to the final stage of the permanent
residence process and file the final application to obtain permanent resident
status (I-485, Adjustment of Status application or Consular Processing abroad).
The priority date is established when an Application for Permanent Employment
Certification is filed with the Department of Labor (DOL) for positions
requiring DOL certification; or when the I-140 Immigrant Visa Petition is
filed with USCIS for positions not requiring DOL certification. Since the
release of the January 2005 Bulletin when visa numbers first retrogressed,
Greenberg Traurig has continued to partner with industry coalitions and
key Congressmen to advocate for immigration relief from these annual quotas
on employment-based immigration.
|
|
