Visa Numbers Unavailable

G

gotyaji

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I just want to know whether the "Visa Numbers Unavailable" news will affect my processing. My details are as given below.

Appln: EB3
LC: June 08 2001 (PD)
EAD Received: August 21 2004
I140 Approval: Feb 2005
FP: April 08 2005
LUD:April 20 2005 (finger printing results).
LUD:May 06 2005
LUD:May 23 2005 (Approx)
RFE:June 06 2005 (Want W2 for 2004 and letter from employer)
Ready to send.

Please let me know if my GC will be postponed because of this visa number issue. If any body can tell me whether they should have the GC No. for me by this time ?
 
Yes. With effect from July 1st, your processing will also be affected until your PD is current. My advise .... send the RFE response asap, Given your PD, just in case they process it before end of June.

gotyaji said:
Hi,

I just want to know whether the "Visa Numbers Unavailable" news will affect my processing. My details are as given below.

Appln: EB3
LC: June 08 2001 (PD)
EAD Received: August 21 2004
I140 Approval: Feb 2005
FP: April 08 2005
LUD:April 20 2005 (finger printing results).
LUD:May 06 2005
LUD:May 23 2005 (Approx)
RFE:June 06 2005 (Want W2 for 2004 and letter from employer)
Ready to send.

Please let me know if my GC will be postponed because of this visa number issue. If any body can tell me whether they should have the GC No. for me by this time ?
Click to expand...
 
Legally_Alien said:
Yes. With effect from July 1st, your processing will also be affected until your PD is current. My advise .... send the RFE response asap, Given your PD, just in case they process it before end of June.
Click to expand...

Thanks
 
Folks,

Any idea [ if you have read some where ] as to when the VISA numbers might be available ??

The bill is far off once we reach Jul 1 2005, so then what ?

I am really confused any pointers is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
BAGUSAC :confused:
 
Yes, this is a nice question even I would like to know when will new numbers be available? Or is it that we have to only wait till this bill gets approved?

BAGUSAC said:
Folks,

Any idea [ if you have read some where ] as to when the VISA numbers might be available ??

The bill is far off once we reach Jul 1 2005, so then what ?

I am really confused any pointers is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
BAGUSAC :confused:
Click to expand...
 
Visa Numbers are going to be avilable From OCT 1 st. You can see this info, once OCT bulletan come out in Sep 2 nd week around 10 th...


But thw main question is as it went to Unavilable From June 1st 2002 ......
From where they will start..... Its not going to become current , for sure unless some miracle happens like visa number incress, Unused Visa allocation stuff like that.


As long as they start from June 2002 and if they go forword from there its OK....but if it further retrogate that going to SUCK.... and take more time
 
I thought currently the USCIS was working on unsused ones ?
That is how they were supposed to reclaim going back.
 
Interesting Conversation with VSC Officer Today !!!

Hi Folks,
I called up VSC for opening up 3rd inquiry for my pending I-485 RD - 09/03.
First I spoke to a Customer Care Rep and she took all my information and said that your case seems to be a pretty old case and she does'nt know why it has not been resolved. She officially opened an inquiry and asked me for any concerns. I told her that this is quite a long wait and I want to know what's holding the case. She transfered me to an Immigration Officer (I don't know why; just on her own).

The Immigration Officer lady was pretty polite and I explained to her that my case has been pending for a while now and told her that I think it's stuck with Namecheck ( as per my 2nd inquiry reply -- security clearance/manpower stuff.... ). She said that does'nt look like the case and then she said that 'it's pending'... She did not know why it is pending though and said that you should expect a response within next 30 days ; and if you don't call back..

Now to the interesting stuff..I told her that my concern is that from July 1st my case shall not be looked into as I am in EB3 category.She said "THAT'S NOT TRUE".... She said you already have filed ur 485 and have a visa number issued (I don't know what she meant though). I again asked that as per the Memo, EB3 pending cases shall not be entertained. She said that it's TRUE ONLY for new 485 applicants and my application would continue to be processed. I didn't want to irke her , so kept quite.

Now folks, what do you say. That lady sounded pretty convincing though. I am confused b'coz what I understand that from July 1st to at least till Oct 1st, we should not hope for any approval for pending 485 Cases.

Well...hoping that what-ever the lady said, turns out to be true :)

PD - 05/01 - EB3- India

As a side note : My 3rd EAD was approved today within 3 weeks of self-filing.
 
I had a similar conversation with the CSC rep on the emergency line. When i mentioned that "from july 01 my EB3 app would not be touched till OCT" the CSC mentioned thats not the case and he does not know either way. the Rep was very helpfull and knew about visa unvailabilty after july 01 for EB3


The answer should have been straight fwd no, when the dates are declared.
 
I had a similiar conversation with my lawyer

I also had similiar conversation with my lawyer, as per her I have already filed my 485 and I already have the visa number.

So folks I really donot understand, I was confused by her talk as well. Does it mean that I still have a chance after June 2005 ???


rohit_bha said:
Hi Folks,
I called up VSC for opening up 3rd inquiry for my pending I-485 RD - 09/03.
First I spoke to a Customer Care Rep and she took all my information and said that your case seems to be a pretty old case and she does'nt know why it has not been resolved. She officially opened an inquiry and asked me for any concerns. I told her that this is quite a long wait and I want to know what's holding the case. She transfered me to an Immigration Officer (I don't know why; just on her own).

The Immigration Officer lady was pretty polite and I explained to her that my case has been pending for a while now and told her that I think it's stuck with Namecheck ( as per my 2nd inquiry reply -- security clearance/manpower stuff.... ). She said that does'nt look like the case and then she said that 'it's pending'... She did not know why it is pending though and said that you should expect a response within next 30 days ; and if you don't call back..

Now to the interesting stuff..I told her that my concern is that from July 1st my case shall not be looked into as I am in EB3 category.She said "THAT'S NOT TRUE".... She said you already have filed ur 485 and have a visa number issued (I don't know what she meant though). I again asked that as per the Memo, EB3 pending cases shall not be entertained. She said that it's TRUE ONLY for new 485 applicants and my application would continue to be processed. I didn't want to irke her , so kept quite.

Now folks, what do you say. That lady sounded pretty convincing though. I am confused b'coz what I understand that from July 1st to at least till Oct 1st, we should not hope for any approval for pending 485 Cases.

Well...hoping that what-ever the lady said, turns out to be true :)

PD - 05/01 - EB3- India

As a side note : My 3rd EAD was approved today within 3 weeks of self-filing.
Click to expand...
 
Confusion

Though unbelievable, since the statement comes from a immigration rep, this issue is debatable.
I am wondering whether the immigration rep knows what the cut-off date is going to be and compared it against your PD. The visa bulletin mentioned that cut-off dates could not be predicted at the time of publishing(June 14 2005).
Any comments?
 
I got the same response when my attorney queried the USCIS about my situation. They said that they have an allocation of visas for pending interview cases. Which seems odd since I have heard many times before of people going to interviews, get conditional approval, not get passport stamping because of visa unavailability.
 
Same here...

I had called VSC to change my address and during my conversation I asked the customer service person about fate of my case. She said everything was fine with my case and they will work on my case pretty soon.

I was persistent and asked about EB3 visa retrogression and my PD (Dec, 2003). She was polite and clarified that if a visa number was not available at the time of filing(Dec 2004) I would not be able to filed the application.

I was more persistent and asked if my application will get approved even if visa numbers for EB3 are not available. This time she was irritated but mentioned that 'visa unavailability' has nothing to do with already filed and pending cases.

I wish and hope she was right. But, I don't want to be very optimistic because some customer service personnel at USCIS are ignorant of the minute details. And I have not seen any strong evidence that can support her argument.







rohit_bha said:
Hi Folks,
I called up VSC for opening up 3rd inquiry for my pending I-485 RD - 09/03.
First I spoke to a Customer Care Rep and she took all my information and said that your case seems to be a pretty old case and she does'nt know why it has not been resolved. She officially opened an inquiry and asked me for any concerns. I told her that this is quite a long wait and I want to know what's holding the case. She transfered me to an Immigration Officer (I don't know why; just on her own).

The Immigration Officer lady was pretty polite and I explained to her that my case has been pending for a while now and told her that I think it's stuck with Namecheck ( as per my 2nd inquiry reply -- security clearance/manpower stuff.... ). She said that does'nt look like the case and then she said that 'it's pending'... She did not know why it is pending though and said that you should expect a response within next 30 days ; and if you don't call back..

Now to the interesting stuff..I told her that my concern is that from July 1st my case shall not be looked into as I am in EB3 category.She said "THAT'S NOT TRUE".... She said you already have filed ur 485 and have a visa number issued (I don't know what she meant though). I again asked that as per the Memo, EB3 pending cases shall not be entertained. She said that it's TRUE ONLY for new 485 applicants and my application would continue to be processed. I didn't want to irke her , so kept quite.

Now folks, what do you say. That lady sounded pretty convincing though. I am confused b'coz what I understand that from July 1st to at least till Oct 1st, we should not hope for any approval for pending 485 Cases.

Well...hoping that what-ever the lady said, turns out to be true :)

PD - 05/01 - EB3- India

As a side note : My 3rd EAD was approved today within 3 weeks of self-filing.
Click to expand...
 
I filed inquiry through my congressman's office in early May right after my PD became current, and the following are VSC's reply:
The case was put on visa hold but should not be any longer. I am pulling the files to have them sent to the adjudications area for processing.

From this, I believe that VSC will not approve any case with PD not current. Now I am hoping my case can be approved before the end of June ...
 
VHD999 said:
I was persistent and asked about EB3 visa retrogression and my PD (Dec, 2003). She was polite and clarified that if a visa number was not available at the time of filing(Dec 2004) I would not be able to filed the application.

I was more persistent and asked if my application will get approved even if visa numbers for EB3 are not available. This time she was irritated but mentioned that 'visa unavailability' has nothing to do with already filed and pending cases.
I wish and hope she was right. But, I don't want to be very optimistic because some customer service personnel at USCIS are ignorant of the minute details. And I have not seen any strong evidence that can support her argument.
Click to expand...


SHE IS WRONG WRONG WRONG
NewsFlash! EB3 Visa Numbers Unavailable from July 2005: Exception Schedule A Workers
Posted Jun 14, 2005
mThe U.S. Department of State (DOS) July 2005 Visa Bulletin, issued June 13, 2005, reflects unavailability of visa numbers in the Employment-Based 3rd Preference (EB3) category for all countries of chargeability. This means everyone in EB3, no matter one's country of origin or priority date, is impacted by this development. The exception, where there is availability of visa numbers, is for the subcategory of Schedule A workers, which includes nurses and physical therapists. [The most current Visa Bulletin is always available on MurthyDotCom.]

What Does this Mean for Me?

This means that, starting July 1, 2005 and continuing until more visa numbers become available, it will not be possible for persons in EB-3 (other than Schedule A) to file I-485 Applications to Adjust Status to Permanent Residence or to obtain immigrant visas at the consulates abroad. Already, previously, visa numbers for nationals of mainland China, India and the Philippines were backlogged but now, these countries and the rest of the world is adversely impacted. Since there is no cut off date for July 2005, this means that even a priority date of January 3, 1990 will not help an EB3 person until a cut off date is established or the priority dates become current again for EB3 applicants.

A backlog has been expected and was explained in our May 13, 2005 NewsFlash, More Retrogression Predicted, however, unavailability was not expected so soon for all nationals. It will also not be possible for the USCIS to approve any of the pending I-485s in the EB3 category until the visa numbers become available once again.
What Happens to My Previously-Filed I-485?

Those I-485 cases that are pending will remain pending until the visa numbers are available. If the numbers move from unavailable to a set cut off date (rather than becoming current), then those I-485 cases with priority dates prior to the cut off date will be able to be approved. Visa numbers are allocated each fiscal year. The government fiscal year begins on October 1 of each calendar year.

Persons who are eligible to file the I-485 in the EB3 category can still do so prior to July 1, 2005, so it is important to move quickly. A more detailed analysis of this development and what it means will be made available on MurthyDotCom and included in our June 17, 2005.

How Can I Learn More about Visa Numbers and Retrogression?

For those that are not familiar with the important concepts of visa numbers, retrogression, and unavailability, there are many recent articles on MurthyDotCom that explain and analyze this topic.
 
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I smell a rat here, a BIG RAT. Let me explain:

If your PD is not current, you cannot apply for 485. This proves that visa number is allocated at the time of application. So the moment they accept your case, 1 visa number is reduced from your country's quota.

Now, if your application was accepted and before it could be decided on, your PD retrogressed....they should not put it in hold. If they put it on hold, this means that they still need to allocate a visa number to your case but can't find it. But they just did at the time application! Think about it!!

Both scenarios cannot be true. There has to be a catch here. The only explanation is that they are "double counting" these cases towards the quota. Let us use my case as an example:

I applied just before EB3 retrogressed for India. Lets say the annual quota for 2005 was 100 visa numbers when I applied. They let me apply because there were enough numbers available. After accepting my application, the quota reduced to 99. Eventually it reduced to 10 and USCIS decided to retrogress EB3. If they then decide to put my case on hold, they should internally increase the quota to 11. If they don't, I am calling it a scam!

There has to be one point in time where visa number is allocated. If its at the time of application, that explains why new applicants can't apply. If its at the time of approval, I can understand why our cases are put on hold. I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE BOTH ARE POSSIBLE.

I rest my case.
 
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