From immigration-law.com:
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The foregoing review would suggest that there might be potentially four options to correct the current visa bulletin fiasco.
One option is for the USCIS to reverse itself and abandon its decision to reject the I-485 applications and start accepting the I-485 applications under the original July Visa Bulletin. In fact, this is do-able regardless of legality of the DOS act to revise, if there was revision at all, the visa bulletin in the middle of the month, or the legality of the releasing "updates" without revision of the visa bulletin and changing it to "unavailabile." Probably, there was no precedent of such action in the DOS history. From the perspectives of the USCIS, they do not have to follow such an act of the sister agency. They should just stick to the USCIS own regulation to authorize accepting I-485 applications when the visa number was available since the legality of the DOS act was arguably of suspect in all accounts. Sometimes, however, reversing one's decision may not be that easy because of potential complex political and legal issues involved.
The second option is to release August 2007 Visa Bulletin with all the EB visa categories other than "other worker" categories "current." This option will save the face of the both agencies and achieve the purposes of removing the current debacle. The information that the USCIS is probably sending back the visa numbers may allow the DOS to such Visa Bulletin which may be released tomorrow. We really hope that the DOS shows a courage to take such an action.
The third option, which is likely another way to save the faces of both agencies, is for the DOS releases the revised July visa bulletin probably with some cut-off dates for different categories based on the number of visas which have been returned by the USCIS. The open question is how far the USCIS has gone in returning the visa numbers to allow the DOS to release such August Visa Bulletin or another Revised July Visa Bulletin.
The fourth, which is important but difficult, option might be to change its rule to permit I-485 application, I-765 employment authorization application, and I-131 applications for the foreign workers and their spouses and children if the foreign workers have obtained the labor certification approvals. Without doubt, the USCIS has been looking into the feasibility of changing the policy without legislation on the procedural issues which are described here. The fact that this reform was introduced in the Congress as part of the SKIL bill or Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act bill would not preclude the USCIS from looking into feasibility of achieving such changes in the procedures under the given legislative authority. All of the current debacle or fiasco would have been prevented, had the Congress passed the SKIL bill or CIR. At this juncture, though, the nation and EB immigrants do not have a luxury to point a finger at the failures of the Congress as it serves no purposes whatsoever. We really hope that the USCIS will work out one of these two solutions promptly to save the nation from further confusion and nightmare.
