In an exciting announcement the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released information regarding revisions for determining visa availability for those waiting to file an adjustment of status (i.e. green card) application. The revisions implement a highly anticipated part of the November 2014 Obama immigration Executive Actions: early green card application filings, which we discussed in our December 1, 2014 bLAWg post.
Starting with the October 2015 Visa Bulletin and going forward, there will be two charts each for employment- and family-based preference category. The first chart, called Application Final Action Dates, provides the dates when green card applications are eligible for decision. The second chart, Dates for Filing Applications, tells you the earliest date when a green card application can be filed. Here is an example:
APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES 
DATES FOR FILING APPLICATIONS 
Although your application will not be eligible for a decision right away, since the Final Action Date for EB-3 India is March 8, 2004, your application will remain pending. While the application is pending, you will be eligible to receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD card) and Advance Parole Travel Document (AP), and can continue to renew those as long as your application remains pending.
Looking at these charts, if you were born in India and have an employment-based third preference (EB-3) I-140 petition approved, pending, or eligible for filing, with a priority date of July 1, 2005 or earlier, you will be eligible to file your green card application as of October 1, 2015 (i.e. the date the Visa Bulletin goes into effect).
This new Visa Bulletin process will allow DOS to more accurately predict overall visa demand and better determine the appropriate dates for upcoming Visa Bulletins. Additionally, the new process is expected to greatly reduce typical month-to-month fluctuations in the Visa Bulletin. Hopefully this will lead to maximum number of green cards issued to intending U.S. immigrants.
Interested in filing for your green card? Questions on whether you qualify? Need more explanation of what a Visa Bulletin tells us? GoffWilson is here for you! Contact our office today for more information.