jambalakadi1
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www.immigration-law.com
Q24: My husband is a registered nurse. We filed Schedule A green card applications. The cases were transferred to the local district offices. At the end of the interview, my husband's I-485 was approved but mine was not approved because the security clearance was yet to be completed. Will my I-485 be affected by the visa retrogression on October 1, 2005? A: Your husband apparently used the one of the recaptured visa numbers for the Schedule A nurses and physical therapists. In October, the visa number will remain "current" and inasmuch as you get the clearance completed soon, it sounds you will be O.K. Remember, though, that because of EB-3 visa number retrogression, it is likely that the 50,000 recaptured numbers can run out fairly quickly. Should that happen, you will have to wait until the visa number will become available even if the local distict office receives security clearance report.
Q39: I am an Indian Physical Therapist and filed concurrent I-140/I-485. I-140 petition was approved, but I-485 was transfered to the local office. The local office interviewed me afterwards, but the officer did not decide my I-485 at the end of the interview. I do not know whether my lawyer filed Scheduled A I-140 petition or regular labor-cerification based I-140 petition. Will I be subject to the India EB-3 visa retrogression? A: Most likely, your lawyer must have filed Schedule A I-140 petition without going through the recruitment process. If yes, then you will not be subject to EB-3 retrogression. You have a separate classification in the Visa Bulletin. This classification is "current" now as the law allocated the 50,000 recaptured visa numbers. We do not know how long it will take to exhaust the recaptured numbers, but it is anticipated that the number may run out much faster in FY 2006 than FY 2005 because of the EB-3 visa number retrogression. When EB-3 number was not retrogressed, some of the Schedule A people were first processed under EB-3 so that they would not take out specially recaptured number of 50,000. However, the situation changed in FY 2006 and the Schedule A immigrants can be processed only under the Schedule A classification and can exhaust the special recaptured number in a faster pace. If your lawyer, for whatever reasons, filed the labor certification application and based on this certified labor certification, filed I-140 petition, then you are subject to the EB-3
Q53: I am in the process of filing EB-3 PERM application and wonder how long I will have to wait to file I-485 application once I get the PERM application approval. There was a report that recapture of the past unused employment-based visa numbers might give some relief for the visa retrogression for EB-3. A: The currently choked visa numbers can be relieved only when the Immigration Reform legislation is enacted by the Congress. The statistics of the U.S. Department of State indicates that there were approximately 101,156 unused numbers left in the pool at the end of FY 2003. Understandably these recapture number was not used in FY 2004 because there was no visa retrogression. Obviously, these recaptured numbers must have been used by the Visa Bureau in FY 2005 because of the Schedule A special legislation for nurses and physical therapists that can use upto 50,000 recaptured numbers a year plus the evolved EB-3 visa number retrogression starting from middle of FY 2005. There is no information available about at this time how many of these recaptured numbers had been used by the end of FY 2005, September 30, 2005. However, no matter how many recaptured numbers are left, the recaptured number will not change much the grim picture of the EB-3 numbers. We need the Immigration Reform bill passed by the Congress as soon as possible. To answer your question, your guess is as good as mine.
Q55: I am an Indian who filed I-140/485 based on EB-3 labor certification. I-140 petition was quickly approved and 485 was transferred to the local district. At the end of interview, the officer could not approve our 485 applications because visa number was not available. I have been working on EAD. My wife is a Physical Therapist who passed the exam. She is now eligible for Schedule A I-140 petition. Can we file a new I-140/485 based on her Schedule A petition? A: Schedule A I-140 petition proceesing time is very short in the four Service Centers. Your wife can file I-140 petition and once it is approved, you can request the USCIS to substitute underlying petition from yours to hers and ask them to close out your I-485 applications. In that case, your wife will become the direct beneficiary instead of the derivative beneficiary and you will become derivative beneficiary. Schedule A category (EX) visa number is currently wide open. You have an option of filing another I-140/I-485 based on her approved Schedule A I-140 petition, but not only you waste your money and there is some chance that the Service Center is confused with your double I-485 filings with two different A-file numbers. It may create delays to straighten out the file number. Besides, since you are working on EAD based on the pending I-485, you may not want to confuse the agency and when you apply for extension of EAD, there is some chance that you will experience some delays in the EAD extension proceeding. On the other hand, if you choose another option of filing another I-485 applications without withdrawing the pending I-485 applications and then EX category becomes retrogressed while EB-3 visa number becomes available, you will have to go through additional steps to request the agency to revert the underlying I-140 petitions between you and your wife. Sometimes, this can cause delays. Since you have a very early EB-3 priority date, it is hard to tell which route you should take. On thing appears to be certain, though, that your wife should go for a Schedule A petition with or without concurrent I-485 application. Good for you!
Q60: I am a registered nurse who will be eligible to file a concurrent Schedule A I-140/I-485 in November, 2005. I read a report that the recapture numbers are quickly running out and wonder whether Schedule A visa category EX will remain current in November 2005. I really need EAD to continue the current employment and while I go through the I-485 process. Since it is likely that the recapture number may completely run out soon, we may fall into general EB-3 category and our visa number waiting time will indeed be long. Any chance that Schedule A visa number will become unavailable in November? A: It is true that there may be only a small number of recapture numbers available but we have no information about how soon it will completely run out. (The State Department disclosed that in FY 2005 which ended in September 2005, it used 258,000 numbers for entire EB categories. Since the annual statutory quota for the entire EB is a little over 140,000, the State Department statistics imply that it used more than 110,000 extra numbers in excess of the annual quota. It derive the extra numbers from the recapture of previous unused EB numbers of about 103,000 in the pool and some other figures from the FB number spillovers. We do not know whether 50,000 out of extra recapture number of 110,000 were actually used by the Schedule A occupations, which I presume they did, it means that there are practically either no remaining recapture numbers or small numbers which the Schedule A occupations can use in FY 2006!) There is some indication that the Schedule A visa number may continue to be available in November 2005 but whether there will be a cut-off date established remains an open question. As far as we know, they will continuously process and adjudicate in November 2005 I-485 applications with the Schedule A I-140 petition of priority date 2004, but we will have to wait and see whether any cases of priority date of 2005 will remain current or the Schedule A visa number will remain completely "current" in all priority dates just like October so that you can file a new I-140/I-485 in November 2005. But the Schedule A professionals should be prepared against the severe retrogression of their visa numbers as part of the EB-3 category very very soon because of unavailability of EX numbers. The November Visa Bullen may be released soon. Please stay tuned to our website.
Q24: My husband is a registered nurse. We filed Schedule A green card applications. The cases were transferred to the local district offices. At the end of the interview, my husband's I-485 was approved but mine was not approved because the security clearance was yet to be completed. Will my I-485 be affected by the visa retrogression on October 1, 2005? A: Your husband apparently used the one of the recaptured visa numbers for the Schedule A nurses and physical therapists. In October, the visa number will remain "current" and inasmuch as you get the clearance completed soon, it sounds you will be O.K. Remember, though, that because of EB-3 visa number retrogression, it is likely that the 50,000 recaptured numbers can run out fairly quickly. Should that happen, you will have to wait until the visa number will become available even if the local distict office receives security clearance report.
Q39: I am an Indian Physical Therapist and filed concurrent I-140/I-485. I-140 petition was approved, but I-485 was transfered to the local office. The local office interviewed me afterwards, but the officer did not decide my I-485 at the end of the interview. I do not know whether my lawyer filed Scheduled A I-140 petition or regular labor-cerification based I-140 petition. Will I be subject to the India EB-3 visa retrogression? A: Most likely, your lawyer must have filed Schedule A I-140 petition without going through the recruitment process. If yes, then you will not be subject to EB-3 retrogression. You have a separate classification in the Visa Bulletin. This classification is "current" now as the law allocated the 50,000 recaptured visa numbers. We do not know how long it will take to exhaust the recaptured numbers, but it is anticipated that the number may run out much faster in FY 2006 than FY 2005 because of the EB-3 visa number retrogression. When EB-3 number was not retrogressed, some of the Schedule A people were first processed under EB-3 so that they would not take out specially recaptured number of 50,000. However, the situation changed in FY 2006 and the Schedule A immigrants can be processed only under the Schedule A classification and can exhaust the special recaptured number in a faster pace. If your lawyer, for whatever reasons, filed the labor certification application and based on this certified labor certification, filed I-140 petition, then you are subject to the EB-3
Q53: I am in the process of filing EB-3 PERM application and wonder how long I will have to wait to file I-485 application once I get the PERM application approval. There was a report that recapture of the past unused employment-based visa numbers might give some relief for the visa retrogression for EB-3. A: The currently choked visa numbers can be relieved only when the Immigration Reform legislation is enacted by the Congress. The statistics of the U.S. Department of State indicates that there were approximately 101,156 unused numbers left in the pool at the end of FY 2003. Understandably these recapture number was not used in FY 2004 because there was no visa retrogression. Obviously, these recaptured numbers must have been used by the Visa Bureau in FY 2005 because of the Schedule A special legislation for nurses and physical therapists that can use upto 50,000 recaptured numbers a year plus the evolved EB-3 visa number retrogression starting from middle of FY 2005. There is no information available about at this time how many of these recaptured numbers had been used by the end of FY 2005, September 30, 2005. However, no matter how many recaptured numbers are left, the recaptured number will not change much the grim picture of the EB-3 numbers. We need the Immigration Reform bill passed by the Congress as soon as possible. To answer your question, your guess is as good as mine.
Q55: I am an Indian who filed I-140/485 based on EB-3 labor certification. I-140 petition was quickly approved and 485 was transferred to the local district. At the end of interview, the officer could not approve our 485 applications because visa number was not available. I have been working on EAD. My wife is a Physical Therapist who passed the exam. She is now eligible for Schedule A I-140 petition. Can we file a new I-140/485 based on her Schedule A petition? A: Schedule A I-140 petition proceesing time is very short in the four Service Centers. Your wife can file I-140 petition and once it is approved, you can request the USCIS to substitute underlying petition from yours to hers and ask them to close out your I-485 applications. In that case, your wife will become the direct beneficiary instead of the derivative beneficiary and you will become derivative beneficiary. Schedule A category (EX) visa number is currently wide open. You have an option of filing another I-140/I-485 based on her approved Schedule A I-140 petition, but not only you waste your money and there is some chance that the Service Center is confused with your double I-485 filings with two different A-file numbers. It may create delays to straighten out the file number. Besides, since you are working on EAD based on the pending I-485, you may not want to confuse the agency and when you apply for extension of EAD, there is some chance that you will experience some delays in the EAD extension proceeding. On the other hand, if you choose another option of filing another I-485 applications without withdrawing the pending I-485 applications and then EX category becomes retrogressed while EB-3 visa number becomes available, you will have to go through additional steps to request the agency to revert the underlying I-140 petitions between you and your wife. Sometimes, this can cause delays. Since you have a very early EB-3 priority date, it is hard to tell which route you should take. On thing appears to be certain, though, that your wife should go for a Schedule A petition with or without concurrent I-485 application. Good for you!
Q60: I am a registered nurse who will be eligible to file a concurrent Schedule A I-140/I-485 in November, 2005. I read a report that the recapture numbers are quickly running out and wonder whether Schedule A visa category EX will remain current in November 2005. I really need EAD to continue the current employment and while I go through the I-485 process. Since it is likely that the recapture number may completely run out soon, we may fall into general EB-3 category and our visa number waiting time will indeed be long. Any chance that Schedule A visa number will become unavailable in November? A: It is true that there may be only a small number of recapture numbers available but we have no information about how soon it will completely run out. (The State Department disclosed that in FY 2005 which ended in September 2005, it used 258,000 numbers for entire EB categories. Since the annual statutory quota for the entire EB is a little over 140,000, the State Department statistics imply that it used more than 110,000 extra numbers in excess of the annual quota. It derive the extra numbers from the recapture of previous unused EB numbers of about 103,000 in the pool and some other figures from the FB number spillovers. We do not know whether 50,000 out of extra recapture number of 110,000 were actually used by the Schedule A occupations, which I presume they did, it means that there are practically either no remaining recapture numbers or small numbers which the Schedule A occupations can use in FY 2006!) There is some indication that the Schedule A visa number may continue to be available in November 2005 but whether there will be a cut-off date established remains an open question. As far as we know, they will continuously process and adjudicate in November 2005 I-485 applications with the Schedule A I-140 petition of priority date 2004, but we will have to wait and see whether any cases of priority date of 2005 will remain current or the Schedule A visa number will remain completely "current" in all priority dates just like October so that you can file a new I-140/I-485 in November 2005. But the Schedule A professionals should be prepared against the severe retrogression of their visa numbers as part of the EB-3 category very very soon because of unavailability of EX numbers. The November Visa Bullen may be released soon. Please stay tuned to our website.
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