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Alerts and Updates

USCIS Cuts Off Visa Numbers in All Employment-Based Categories

July 2, 2007

USCIS Cuts Off Visa Numbers in All Employment-Based Categories

July 2, 2007

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On July 2, 2007, the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) took unprecedented action by cutting off visa numbers in all employment-based categories, making them unavailable. As a result, USCIS is no longer accepting employment-based applications for Adjustment of Status.

The Department of State issued the following revised Visa Bulletin:

The sudden backlog reduction efforts by Citizenship and Immigration Services Offices during the past month have resulted in the use of almost 60,000 Employment numbers. As a result of this unexpected action it has been necessary to make immediate adjustments to several previously announced cut-off dates. All Citizenship and Immigration Services Offices have been notified of the following: Effective Monday July 2, 2007 there will be no further authorizations in response to requests for Employment-based preference cases. All numbers available to these categories under the FY-2007 annual numerical limitation have been made available. Employment preference numbers will once again be available to these chargeability areas beginning October 1, 2007, under the FY-2008 annual numerical limitation.
In response to the Department of State's revised Visa Bulletin, USCIS announced that it is rejecting applications to adjust status (Form I-485) as of Monday, July 2, 2007. For the text of the USCIS notice, please visit www.uscis.gov.

For applicants who have submitted documents in preparation for filing, counsel may evaluate options for continued processing and preparation of applications for possible filing in Fiscal Year 2008, which begins October 1, 2007.

Due to the unprecedented nature of the government's actions and the impact on eligible applicants and sponsoring employers, the American Immigration Law Foundation is contemplating litigation.

We will send future Alerts regarding any further actions taken by the government.

For Further Information

For more information about this Alert, please contact one of the immigration attorneys of our Employment & Immigration Practice Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.