Department of State Announcement regarding expected EB-2 retrogression for Indian Nationals – Recommendation to file for Adjustment of Status asap Late last week, the State Department announced that perhaps as early as November 1, it expects the priority date for the EB-2 employment based green card category for Indian nationals could retrogress to a date sometime in early 2005. This development is due to the increased demand for EB-2 cases by Indian nationals who were EB-3 beneficiaries; a very large number of these beneficiaries have upgraded to the EB-2 category in recent months. These newly approved EB-2 cases has caused the projected demand for immigrant visa numbers during FY 2015 to exceed the available numbers for this category. The State Department also announced that all green card numbers in this category for FY 2014 have been used up, but USCIS will continue to adjudicate these EB-2 cases during September and October (when the new fiscal year begins). In September, when USCIS approves an I-485 Adjustment Application and then notifies DOS that it has done so, DOS will hold the case in the Visa Office’s “Pending Demand” file until October 1. At that time, the numbers will be authorized, and USCIS then can print the green card for the approved case. Based on the State Department’s announcement, it appears that as early as November 1, any immigrant visa numbers in this category will be limited to cases with priority dates earlier than the 2005 date that DOS expects to publish in the November Visa Bulletin, and USCIS likely will suspend further work on those cases with a later priority date until the posted priority date begins moving forward again. The actual announcement by the State Department did not say that on November 1 all such EB-2 numbers for Indian nationals would be stopped, but to be safe, beneficiaries in this category should assume that November 1 is a likely target date. Accordingly, every Indian national who is an EB-2 beneficiary with a priority date that is the same as or is earlier than the current posted priority date of May 1, 2009, should file for Adjustment of Status immediately. By doing so, the beneficiary and all eligible family members will be able to file for Employment Authorization. This is especially critical for spouses and children who have not had the right to an EAD card until now. We will keep you posted regarding this development as we move through September and October. If you have any questions about this issue and how it may affect your case, please let us know and we will be happy to discuss it with you. Gerry Chapman
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 15:55:29 +0000
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