Disturbing news- Please confirm if anyone else has heard this.

[gshan79]

I heard this disturbing news from my lawyer today. Did anyone else get this?
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We've also heard some discouraging news today that the USCIS may close the window of opportunity for priority dates to remain current since they have enough applications already in the queue right now to fill the quota. This is before the July 1st eligibility date which is when most of our employees are eligible to file. If an applications is filed with the USCIS and then there is an announcement that numbers retrogress or become unavailable, the application will be held in abeyance until a number is available to process the case. Any applications received by the USCIS after the numbers retrogress will be returned and we will be required to wait until your priority date is current to file. There may be an official announcement soon from the USCIS that priority dates will retrogress.
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I am so angry...

[PrakashK]

Yes, I heard the same. This is just sad.

[deepadass]

We know the news of the potential changes in the July Visa Bulletin has been spreading through the immigrant community, and generating many questions. Following is a brief explanation of what appears to be happening, and some guidance as to where this might lead.

We think that, apparently, the reason for this strange unfolding of events is that, by completing adjudication of an unprecedented number of I-485 cases, the USCIS is pushing the DOS to issue a revised Visa Bulletin early next week. The goal of USCIS appears to be to make the immigrant visa numbers "unavailable" as early as possible by exhausting the entire visa numbers for fiscal year 2007 (until Sep 30, 2007). There is a lot of speculation as to the reason for this, including that the USCIS does not want too many I-485 cases to be filed while they are trying to clear their backlogs and that they want people to pay the substantially higher USCIS filing fees that will take effect from July 27, 2007 onwards. What ever the reason, we believe their actions are not acceptable and are in violation of the law.

If the DOS issues a revised Visa Bulletin, and the USCIS uses that revised Bulletin as the excuse to reject all employment-based (EB) cases, then it violates their own precedent for over half a century and it is a violation of the USCIS's own regulation to accept cases during the month that the DOS Visa Bulletin shows visa number availability. Nothing like this has ever happened before June 2007. It is an alarming development, which must be addressed.

If nothing changes next week and the DOS and USCIS decide to continue business as usual, then one all can continue to file during the month of July 2007. This has been the traditional position historically with the USCIS in accepting I-485s during the month when the Visa Bulletin shows availability for the month. This means that, historically in this situation, a person was allowed to file an I-485 for all eligible family members and obtain the EAD and AP based on the I-485 filing, as long as the case reached the USCIS on or before July 31, 2007.

If the DOS issues the revised Visa Bulletin and the USCIS uses that as the reason to reject I-485s, then the only remedy will be a lawsuit against the USCIS. The American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) has already been authorized to file a lawsuit and is looking for class action plaintiffs. In order to sue, a person needs to show that s/he was harmed by the actions of the government. This likely will require the person to file the I-485 so that it reaches the USCIS during July 2007, then the person must show that the USCIS rejected that package improperly. The person may also need to show the harm suffered, financial and otherwise; for example by the person and family members not being able to work with the EAD.

all be prepared

deepa