July 17, 2007

URGENT UPDATE TO OUR CLIENTS ON ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATIONS

In a long awaited reversal of their position, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, beginning immediately, it will accept employment-based applications to adjust status (Form I-485) filed by aliens whose priority dates are current under the July Visa Bulletin, No. 107 http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3258.html. USCIS will accept applications filed not later than August 17, 2007. After a tremendous amount of pressure was placed on the USCIS as well as the Department of State the agencies began to rethink their positions. Today the Department of State advised that Bulletin #107 (dated June 12) should be relied upon as the current July Visa Bulletin for purposes of determining employment visa number availability, and that Visa Bulletin #108 (dated July 2) has been withdrawn.

USCIS’s announcement today allows anyone who was eligible to apply under Visa Bulletin No. 107 31 days to do so. Applications that were filed on July 2nd, properly, with USCIS will be fee'd in. The other piece of good news is that the fee increase that will take place on July 30, 2007 will not apply to these AOS applications. However all other applications filed on or after July 30, 2007 will need to utilize the new fee schedule.