Articles Posted in Processing Times

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the February 2025 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of February.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of February.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of February.

Please click here for more information.

Highlights of the February 2025 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of February?

Employment-Based Categories

Dates for Filing

  • No change from previous month 

Final Action Advancements

EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability

  • EB-2 India will advance by two weeks to October 15, 2012

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers

  • EB-3 India will advance by two weeks to December 15, 2012
  • EB-3 China will advance by one month to July 1, 2020

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 What will Trump’s immigration policies look like during his second term? In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick breaks down what families need to know before he takes office.

You will learn all about the upcoming changes that may impact family-based immigration, and how his policies may slow down the processing of immigrant visas at U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad.

This information is based on the Trump administration’s campaign promises, and actions taken during his first term in office. While we do not know for certain what is to come, applicants should expect a departure from the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

Overview

Looking back on President Trump’s first term in office, his administration issued far-reaching executive actions on immigration. From Muslim travel bans to an overhaul of the public charge rule, the immigration process became much more restrictive.

Many of these executive actions and policy changes may be reinstated during his first 100 days in office, causing more headaches for family-based immigrants.

Here are some of the changes that may be expected from the Trump administration.

Return of the Public Charge Rule for Green Card and Immigrant Visa Applicants

To obtain a green card or immigrant visa, applicants must demonstrate that they are not likely to become a “public charge” on the U.S. government. A person who is likely to depend on government assistance for their basic needs is deemed a “public charge.”

In 2019, the Trump administration expanded the criteria used by USCIS and Consular officials to determine whether an immigrant is likely to become a public charge. Under Trump’s public charge rule, the use of public benefits (such as food stamps, Medicaid, and Section 8 housing assistance) were factors that were considered in public charge determinations, making it more difficult for immigrants receiving these benefits to obtain a green card.

The Trump administration also required USCIS and Consular officers to weigh several factors when making a public charge determination, including the applicant’s age, health, family status, assets, resources, financial status, education, and skills.

Proof of Personal Financial Resources

To make matters worse, Trump’s public charge rule also required green card applicants to show proof of personal financial resources.

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The American people have spoken. Donald Trump will return to the White House on January 20, 2025, becoming the next President of the United States.

This past month, the Trump administration has been busy laying the groundwork to implement stricter border policy measures, strike-down Biden-era immigration policies, and put in motion the large-scale deportation of undocumented immigrants.

But how could a Trump presidency impact legal immigration?

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what we can expect to see from the incoming Trump administration, with a specific focus on the changes that could impact business immigration law. You will learn about the five major changes that employers and foreign workers should consider in the months ahead.

If you’re an employer looking to hire foreign talent, or are actively employing foreign workers, then you won’t want to miss this video. If you’re a foreign worker going through the visa process, or thinking of applying for a visa, we will share with you the insider information you need to know to ensure your process is successful.

Want to know more? Just keep on watching

Overview

The Trump administration’s immigration policies are expected to impact workers in all industries. Individuals close to the President elect have revealed that they are preparing executive actions on immigration to be rolled out soon after Trump takes office in January.

Here are the top five ways that Trump’s immigration policies will impact business immigration.

#1 The Use of Executive Orders

During his first term in office, Donald Trump relied heavily on executive orders to bring about far-reaching changes in immigration policy, including his notorious “Muslim travel ban.”

As you may recall, in 2017 President Trump signed an executive order banning people from six Muslim-majority countries, from entering the United States for a period of 90 days. These countries were Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.

The executive order prevented nationals from entering, even if they held visas to travel to the United States, causing wide-spread family separation for those seeking to be reunited with their spouses, parents, and children in the United States.

Upon taking office, we expect President Trump to issue a series of executive orders that will restrict the admission of certain foreign nationals to the United States and codify his hardline immigration policies.

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If you are currently going through the immigrant visa process and are waiting for your interview to be scheduled at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas, then you won’t want to miss this important video. In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares the latest updates regarding the operational capacity of U.S. Consular posts and Embassies worldwide as of June 2024.

Annual Numerical Limits – Visa Bulletin

Please note that certain categories of immigrants are subject to annual numerical limits which means that applicants must wait until an immigrant visa becomes available to them, before they can be scheduled for an immigrant visa interview at a Consulate overseas.

These include unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens, spouses and children of permanent residents, unmarried sons and daughters (21 years or older) of permanent residents, married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens, and brothers and sisters of adult U.S. Citizens.

Additionally, all employment-based immigrant visa categories are subject to annual numerical limits.

If any of the above-mentioned categories apply to you, you must check the Visa Bulletin every month to determine whether your priority date is current according to your preference category and country of nationality. Only once your priority date is current on the final action date chart of the Visa Bulletin, can your case be scheduled for a visa interview.

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Welcome back to ImmigrationLawyerBlog! In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses a new rule from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that will provide relief to nearly 800,000 applicants seeking a renewal of their employment authorization document also known as a work permit by automatically extending certain EADs from 6 months to 18 months.

Overview

On April 4, 2020, USCIS announced a temporary final rule (TFR) that increases the automatic extension period for employment authorization and EADs available to certain EAD renewal applicants from up to 180 days (6 months) to up to 540 days (or 18 months) from the printed expiration date of a previously issued EAD. 

Effective April 8, 2024, this temporary final rule will apply to two categories of EAD applicants:

(1) applicants who timely and properly filed their Form I-765 applications on or after October 27, 2023, if the application is still pending on April 8, 2024; and

(2) applicants who timely and properly file their Form I-765 application on or after April 8, 2024 and on or before September 30, 2025 (540 days after publication of this temporary final rule in the Federal Register).

Applicants must have one of these qualifying eligibility categories to receive an automatic extension of their employment authorization and/or EAD validity: A03, A05, A07, A08, A10, A12, A17*, A18*, C08, C09, C10, C16, C19, C20, C22, C24, C26*, and C31.  These eligibility categories are published on the USCIS Automatic EAD Extension webpage.

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Have you ever wondered why new immigration cases are being approved faster than older pending cases? If so, then you may be interested to learn why this is happening, as well as how the review process is conducted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and what you can do if you are facing this situation.

If you would like to know more about this topic, we invite you to watch our video.

Overview

Q: My case has been pending with USCIS for several months. I have recently learned that USCIS has been giving recently filed cases priority over older cases, why is that?

USCIS Review Process

To understand this issue, let’s first discuss how USCIS accepts and reviews cases once they are received by the agency.

After you submit your application including your forms and filing fees, the first thing USCIS will do is input the receipt of your application into their system and send a notice to you by mail confirming the date your materials were received and accepted as a complete filing. This receipt is known as the Notice of Action.

USCIS will create a new file and assign a case number to your application which will appear on your Notice of Action, which you can use to check the status of your application on the USCIS website and by telephone.

Your case will then be sorted and routed to the appropriate service center or field office that will oversee the evaluation of your application. The office that will be given jurisdiction over your case is determined by a number of factors including but not limited to, your case type, agency workloads, and the date of receipt.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses a new press release shared by the Department of State which provides insights on the status of visa operations worldwide during fiscal year 2023. The report highlights that from October 2022 through September 2023, DOS issued more than 10 million visas worldwide, with half of U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world issuing more visas than ever before.

In this post, we provide a summary of the agency’s impressive achievements and visa statistics over the past fiscal year.

If you would like to know more about this topic, we invite you to watch our video.

Overview

According to the press release, the Department of State hit a near historic record, issuing more than 10.4 million nonimmigrant visas worldwide in fiscal year 2023.

Nearly 8 million visitor visas were issued for business and tourism – more than in any fiscal year since 2016.

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In this blog post, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares everything you need to know about the January 2024 Visa Bulletin including major advancements in the employment based and family-sponsored preference categories. This is the most significant movement we have seen in months! We also discuss our predictions on what to expect from the Visa Bulletin in the coming months.

If you would like to know more about this topic, we invite you to watch our video.

Adjustment of Status Filing Chart January 2024

As in the previous few months, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to use the Dates for Filing chart in the month of January 2024 to determine eligibility for I-485 adjustment of status filings (green card filings inside the US).

 What Changes Can Be Seen Next Month?

Employment-based categories

  • EB-1 India: The EB-1 India Final Action Date will advance by three years and eight months, to September 1, 2020, and the Date for Filing will advance by a year and a half, to January 1, 2021.
  • EB-1 China: The EB-1 China Final Action Date will advance by four and a half months, to July 1, 2022, and the Date for Filing will advance five months, to January 1, 2023.
  • EB-2: The EB-2 Final Action Date for India will advance by two months, to March 1, 2012, and the EB-2 China Final Action Date will advance by approximately nine weeks, to January 1, 2020. Final Action Dates for the remaining countries in EB-2 will advance by three and a half months, to November 1, 2022.

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In this blog post, we discuss an important topic: can you apply for U.S. Citizenship if you are still waiting to receive a decision for a pending Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

We will discuss a client’s hypothetical case for you to consider under what circumstances it may be possible to apply for U.S. Citizenship with a pending I-751 petition.

Overview

As our readers may be aware, the Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence is subject to lengthy processing times, with 80 percent of cases receiving a decision within 20 to 30 months of filing, depending on the USCIS Field Office or Service Center that is processing the petition.

Due to these long wait times, back in January of 2023, USCIS announced that it would be extending the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards) for applicants with a pending Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, or Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status for a period of 48 months (4 years) beyond the green card’s printed expiration date.

USCIS began implementing this change by providing a 48-month automatic extension on Notices of Action mailed to applicants beginning on January 11, 2023, for Form I-829 applicants, and on January 25, 2023, for Form I-751 applicants.

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Want to know why the immigrant visa backlog is still a big issue in 2023? Then you won’t want to miss this blog post, where attorney Jacob Sapochnick tells you all you need to know about the visa backlogs.

Overview

So, you’ve filed your green card application and now your case is stuck in the backlogs. In this video we discuss what the green card backlog is and why it is still happening in 2023.

What is a green card backlog?

A green card backlog occurs when there have been significant delays in the processing and approval of applications for adjustment of status to permanent residency (also known as green card applications filed with USCIS) and/or immigrant visa applications awaiting interview scheduling at U.S. Consulates and Embassies abroad.

While the backlog has always existed to some extent, mandatory quarantines and social distancing protocols occurring during the Coronavirus pandemic worsened delays in green card processing. Additionally, the annual numerical limits for family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories limit the number of green cards that can be issued every year, therefore causing delays among millions of applicants who must wait for their “priority date” to become current on the Visa Bulletin, before becoming eligible to apply for their green card. For many of these categories, demand for visas far exceeds the number of available visas which causes a backlog of applicants waiting for their turn at the front of the line.

Furthermore, the Immigration and Nationality Act imposes a per-country limit on the number of green cards that can be issued by country of nationality. Therefore, applicants from countries that experience a high demand for visas such as India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines have much longer wait times when compared to other foreign nationals.

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