The USCIS recently issued an interoffice memorandum that revised its prior policy on waiting until the FBI name check was completed to adjudicate an I-485 Adjustment of Status application.  Under its revised policy, the USCIS now has the authority to adjudicate an otherwise approvable I-485 adjustment application if the FBI name check has been pending for over 180 days but has not been completed.  This does not mean that every adjustment case that has been pending for over 180 days will be approved.  The priority date for the case must still be current at that time for adjustment adjudication to take place.  Copied below is a paragraph from the USCIS Interoffice Memorandum that goes into additional detail on its revised policy. 

A definitive FBI fingerprint check and the IBIS check must be obtained and resolved before an Application for Adjustment of Status (I-485), Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility (I-601), Application for Status as a Temporary Resident Under Section 245A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I-687), or Application to Adjust Status from Temporary to Permanent Resident (Under Section 245A of Public Law 99-603)(I-698) is approved.  USCIS will continue to initiate FBI name checks when those applications are received.  Where the application is otherwise approvable and the FBI name check request has been pending for more than 180 days, the adjudicator shall approve the I-485, I-601, I-687, or I-698 and proceed with card issuance.  The FBI has committed to providing FBI name check results within this timeframe.

There is no change in the requirement that FBI fingerprint check, IBIS check and FBI name check results be obtained and resolved prior to the adjudication of an Application for Naturalization (N-400).

Pending further guidance regarding post-audit reporting and tracking requirements and modifications to associated quality assurance procedures, applications approved pursuant to this memorandum shall be held at the adjudicating office.  If derogatory or adverse information is received from the FBI after the application is approved, USCIS will determine if rescission or removal proceedings are appropriate and warranted.

The United States Department of State (DOS) released its February 2008 Visa Bulletin. As we predicted in a recent issue of our Immigration News Weekly, the Employment-Based Second Preference Category (EB2) for Indian nationals has become ‘unavailable’. That means the demand for this category has exceeded the supply of immigrant visas available for this fiscal year.

To view the entire February Visa Bulletin, please go toTHIS LINK and click on State Department Visa Bulletin.

We will discuss the February Visa Bulletin and the ramifications of EB2 unavailability for Indian nationals in the next issue of our Immigration News Weekly.

We are in the business of helping people.  So it makes us feel good when clients tell us how happy they are that we helped them.

For this particular client, our office filed an I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker under the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category.  We also filed an I-485 Adjustment of Status application concurrently with the I-140 petition since the priority date was current for her country of nationality.  Through the hard work of a number of staff members at the firm, the client's I-140 NIW application was approved.  And subsequently the I-485 adjustment application was recently approved as well.  Now the client is a permanent resident of the United States and can begin the process of eventually becoming a U.S. citizen.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of Fiscal Year 2008 (FY2008).  USCIS said that January 2, 2008 is the “final receipt date” for new H-2B worker petitions requesting employment start dates prior to October 1, 2008.  The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determines that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the second half of FY2008. USCIS will reject petitions for new H-2B workers seeking employment start dates prior to October 1, 2008 that arrive after January 2, 2008.

USCIS will apply a computer-generated random selection process to all petitions which are subject to the cap and were received on January 2, 2008.  USCIS will use this process to select the number of petitions needed to meet the cap.  USCIS will reject, and return the fee, for all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected.

Petitions for workers who are currently in H-2B status do not count towards the congressionally mandated bi-annual H-2B cap.  USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:

·         Extend the stay of a current H-2B worker in the United States;

·         Change the terms of employment for current H-2B workers and extend their stay; or

·         Allow current H-2B workers to change or add employers and extend their stay.

We will provide more information about the H-2B cap and program when it becomes available.

U.S.  Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the suspension of premium processing services for religious worker (R-1) visa petitions will be extended until July 8, 2008.  A previous six-month suspension was announced on June 18, 2007.

The Premium Processing Service provides faster processing of certain employment-based petitions and guarantees a 15-calendar day processing time.  Due to the complexities with adjudicating R-1 visa petitions, USCIS said that they cannot reasonably ensure a level of processing service within 15 calendar days.

On April 25, 2007, USCIS proposed significant revisions to its regulations related to the special immigrant and nonimmigrant (R-1) religious worker visa classifications.  USCIS is currently considering comments on the proposed rule and promulgating the final rule.  The proposed rule suggested steps to eliminate fraud in the religious worker program and discusses concerns addressed in an August 2005 Benefit Fraud Assessment conducted by USCIS’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security.  That assessment revealed potential vulnerabilities in the religious worker program.

USCIS will continue processing R-1 visa petitions which include already-established procedures designed to ensure the legitimacy of the petitioner and statements made in the petition.  The procedures may include inspections, evaluations, verifications and compliance reviews for religious organizations - procedures that exceed the 15-day guarantee for premium processing.

In the future, if USCIS is able to properly process these cases within 15 calendar days of receipt, the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) requesting R-1 nonimmigrant visa classification may once again be available for premium processing services.  Additionally, USCIS may prescribe additional conditions of availability on the Premium Processing Service for religious worker petitions.  We will keep you posted on this issue as additional information becomes available.