What Retrogression?

[aaifor]

It appears from the LAW that Retrogression follows to new 485 applicants ONLY.
I am quoting below the section of the Immigration and Nationality ACT 245:

INA: ACT 245 - ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF NONIMMIGRANT TO THAT OF PERSON ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE

Sec. 245. [8 U.S.C. 1255] (i)

2) Upon receipt of such an application and the sum hereby required, the Attorney General may adjust the status of the alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if-

(A) the alien is eligible to receive an immigrant visa and is admissible to the United States for permanent residence; and

(B) an immigrant visa is immediately available to the alien at the time the application is filed.


There is no mention how the alien qualifies (marriage/employment etc.) so i would construe the aboveto apply to employment too unless otherwise noted elsewhere.

From (B) (in red) it says at the time the application is filed

Therefore i think (i DONT KNOW) that Visa number is acquired at the time of filing the application....

 

[aaifor]

Operating Instructions

As the devil's advocate i present another detail ( it is always the details ) from Operating Instructions (Sweat the Small Stuff)
[p] From OI 245 Adjustment of status to that of person admitted for permanent residence.
Subsection
OI 245.4 Request for immigrant visa number.
a(6)
Subsequent Unavailability of a visa number. When a properly filed application cannot be completed solely because visa numbers became unavailable subsequent to the filing, the application will be held in abeyance until a visa number is allocated.

Those cases held in abeyance pending the allocation of a nonpreference visa number shall be periodically reviewed to screen out any applicant who appears eligible for a preference classification. Any applicant who appears eligible for a preference classification. Any applicant who appears eligible for a preference classification shall be informed and instructed how to proceed. IN all such cases held in abeyance pending allocation of a visa number, Form I-181, in duplicate, bearing the stamped notation "HOLD FOR VISA NUMBER" in the upper right-hand portion of the box labeled "For use by the Visa Control Office" shall be forwarded to the Visa Control Office" insure that a visa number will be allocated when one becomes available. Similarly, when a different preference is established, a new Form I-181 prepared in accordance with the foregoing shall be forwarded to the Visa Control Office. When a visa number is available in these cases, the Visa Control Office will return Form I-181 endorsed to show allocation of an immigrant visa number for the month following the month notification is furnished to the Service. This will allow sufficient time to complete any unfinished processing.

(c) (c) Disposition of allocated immigrant visa numbers. In each section 245 case requiring the allocation of a visa number, the Visa Control Office will endorse Form I-181 to show the allocation of the visa number. A number may be used at any time during the fiscal year for which it was issued. If the application is approved during that fiscal year, the date of acquisition of permanent resident status shall be the date on which the application is actually approved in a section 245 case.

If, after allocation of a visa number, the application is denied or it appears final approval will be delayed beyond the end of the fiscal year in which it must be used, Form I-181 shall be returned immediately to the Visa Control Office, conspicuously endorsed to show that the number is returned for cancellation.

Also, in order to eliminate the possibility that an allocated visa number will go unused and thus be wasted, whenever a section 245 case is to be transferred during the first 10 months of the fiscal year (October -July), after a visa number has been allocated and before a decision can be made, the office transferring the file shall transmit it with memorandum calling the attention of the receiving office to the fact that a visa number has been allocated for use in that year. When such a case is to be transferred during August or September, the office transferring the file shall first return Form I-181 to the Visa Control Office, endorsed to show that the number is returned for cancellation; and exception to this procedure may be made only if arrangements have been made telephonically or telegraphically to insure that the office is being transferred will adjudicate the application during the fiscal year in which the number must be used. If, after a Form I-181 has been returned to the Visa Control Office for cancellation of an allocated number, the applicant is subsequently found eligible, new Forms I-181 in duplicate shall be submitted to that office without a covering memorandum.

On the last business day of August of each year, a physical inventory shall be made of all pending section 245 applications to determine whether any allocated numbers have not been used. If an unused number allocated during the first 11 months of that fiscal year is found and the application cannot be immediately approved, the number shall be returned to the Visa Control Office no later than September 10 for cancellation. Special attention shall be paid to cases in which a visa number is allocated for use in September to insure that, if the case cannot be approval during that month, the number will be returned to the Visa Control Office at the earliest possible date prior to the end of the fiscal year to permit its possible allocation to another alien during that year.


Does this clarify....? Or confuse from the first post since this talks about Visa number not being available at the time of adjudicating the case. So OI (Operating Instructions) considers a practical scenario while maybe INA doesn't go in depth.

For all the coders, INA looks like a software spec and OI looks like the implementation (that probably does more that what the spec defines)....

 

[pras01]

Dil ko bahlane ka bahana achcha hai

From Murthy:

Question 1. My I-485 is already pending or will be filed by the end of September 2005. If my case is filed before retrogression / cutoff dates are established in my category, do I need to worry about all of this? Is my case affected?

Yes and yes. In order to file the I-485, there must be a currently available visa number. However, to obtain the I-485 approval there must also be a currently available visa number. Thus, those who have I-485s filed, or who will get them filed while the priority dates are available for their cases, still need to be concerned about retrogression and cutoff dates. The pending I-485 cases cannot be approved until the visa number becomes available sometime in the future. People with these cases will be able to wait this out and obtain employment authorization document extensions and advance parole extensions year after year. Their green cards will await the availability of the visa number in the particular visa category, however.

 

[MDGUTS1307]

Another source

What you say is interesting.

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to when the immigrant visa number is allocated. From what you have posted it appears it is allocated at the time of filing to 485 ( am I correct in assuming this ?)

I read the uscis web page and found the following :

How Do I Apply for an Immigrant Visa Number?
You do not directly apply for an immigrant visa number. In most cases, your relative or employer sends a visa petition to the USCIS for you (the beneficiary) to become an immigrant. (Certain applicants such as priority workers, investors, certain special immigrants, and diversity immigrants can petition on their own behalf.) USCIS will tell the person who filed the visa petition (the petitioner) if the visa petition is approved. USCIS will then send the approved visa petition to the Department of State's National Visa Center, where it will remain until an immigrant visa number is available. The Center will notify you (the beneficiary of the application) when the visa petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number is available. You do not need to contact the National Visa Center, unless you change your address or there is a change in your personal situation that may affect your eligibility for an immigrant visa. You may contact the National Visa Center by writing to: The National Visa Center; 32 Rochester Avenue; Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801-2909.

How Can I Find Out When an Immigrant Visa Number Will Be Available for Me?
Each approved visa petition is placed in chronological order according to the date the visa petitioin was filed. The date the visa petition was filed is known as your priority date. The State Department publishes a bulletin that shows the month and year of the visa petitions they are working on by country and preference category (see eligibility information above). You can estimate of the amount of time it will take to get an immigrant visa number by comparing your priority date with the date listed in the bulletin. For instance, suppose you look under your country and preference category, and see that the State Department is working on applications they received in May 1996. If your priority date is May 1998, then you may have to wait several more years for an immigrant visa number to become available. You may access the State Department Visa Bulletin at the State Department's Website, or you may call the Department of State Visa Office at (202) 663-1541, to learn which priority dates are currently being processed.


FROM THIS, IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THEY ALLOCATE THE IMMIGRANT VISA NUMBER AFTER I-140 PETITION IS APPROVED.

ANY COMMENTS ?

 

[TheRealCanadian]

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to when the immigrant visa number is allocated. From what you have posted it appears it is allocated at the time of filing to 485 ( am I correct in assuming this ?)

No. An immigrant visa number must be available at the time the I-485 is filed, as well as when it is approved. It is not actually allocated until the I-485 is approved.