Visa Bulletin Impacts Dependents : File Early!
Posted Jul 21, 2006
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We at the Murthy Law Firm issued a NewsFlash to our readers on July 17, 2006 regarding the August 2006 Visa Bulletin, released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). As explained in that article, NewsFlash! EB2 for Indian Nationals Unavailable in Aug 2006, EB2 visa numbers for nationals of India will be unavailable as of August 1, 2006. This will continue until new visa numbers become available on October 1, 2006, the start of the 2007 fiscal year. We therefore are reminding MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers that the need for visa number availability applies to ALL individuals who are part of an employment-based green card case, including derivative beneficiaries (i.e. spouses and minor children).
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Visa Numbers Needed for Each Family Member
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Cases for all family members are not always filed at the same time. Each eligible family member requires his/her own I-485, Application for Adjustment of Status. If consular processing is selected, each person needs to process at the consulate and obtain the immigrant visa before the date retrogresses. It is often assumed that, if the primary applicant has the I-485 filed or approved, the dependents or derivative family members do not need to worry about visa numbers. This is not correct. If the primary files his or her case when the numbers are available, but the dependent does not, the dependent will not be able to file the I-485 adjustment application or complete consular processing unless and until numbers are available.
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Traveling Family Members Should Return to the U.S. to File the I-485
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We remind our readers to contact their attorneys if they have not filed the I-485/s for any family member/s. This is applicable at the I-485 / consular processing stage only and does not apply to the labor certification or I-140 filing. Any family member who is eligible to file the I-485, but was omitted, should file before the end of July 2006 if the priority date is current. If that family member is traveling abroad at this time, they would have to return to the US to file the I-485, as one must be physically in the US to file. It is also worthwhile to consider preparing the I-485 in advance of entry to the U.S. and then filing the I-485 prior to the visa retrogression on August 1, 2006. Additionally, those who have selected consular processing, but are eligible for adjustment of status, may wish to rethink that decision, as ancillary benefits like the EAD for employment and advance parole (AP) for travel are only available with a pending I-485 adjustment application. ©MurthyDotCom
Future Predictions on Movement of Priority Dates
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While more visa numbers will be available on October 1, 2006, it should not be presumed that they will return to the dates in the July 2006 Visa Bulletin (or to later dates). Visa cutoff dates are based on estimates of demand. The demand in the EB categories, in part, is dictated by what happens with labor certification cases pending at the Backlog Processing Centers (BPCs). If the DOL is able to fulfill its plans to process cases at increased rates, the demand for visa numbers will increase and the cutoff dates will be further negatively impacted. Keep in mind that the EB visa numbers are allocated throughout the year, in a quarterly system. Thus, unlike the H1B numbers, they are not all available at the beginning of the new fiscal year.
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