supers789
11-22 10:28 AM
Ok. Here is a question I have.
I know one can get 3 years extensions once 140 is approved even with previous employer. The question is -
Assume EB2 140 is approved for previous employer has PD June 2004, and then one changes the job. By the time his 6 years of H1B gets over, June 2004 becomes current. Now the person cannot file 485 since 140 was approved for old employe whom he has left an year back. Will the person still get 3 years of extension on H1B?
I was thinking, u get 3 years extension due to retrogession.. so with the fact that PD is current, how will you still get 3 years of extension?
Thanks.
I know one can get 3 years extensions once 140 is approved even with previous employer. The question is -
Assume EB2 140 is approved for previous employer has PD June 2004, and then one changes the job. By the time his 6 years of H1B gets over, June 2004 becomes current. Now the person cannot file 485 since 140 was approved for old employe whom he has left an year back. Will the person still get 3 years of extension on H1B?
I was thinking, u get 3 years extension due to retrogession.. so with the fact that PD is current, how will you still get 3 years of extension?
Thanks.
wallpaper of Jay Walker#39;s library.
vin
06-13 11:08 AM
I have seen this same footage months ago and to it don't look real, its cooked. Some facts there are just un-digestible like the gora guy will take job of a waiter immediately after working as senior exec. cmon market is not that bad unless he don't know anything else and don't have ability to get other similar job, then he should be fired anyways. and then that carlos guy, his dress up don't seems convincing that other execs will give me good response after presentation. its all cooked... showing 600k+ numbers are all bogus.
LOL. Come on man. No need to seriously justify so much! Looking at it, straightway anyone can make out that it was made to be a joke!
LOL. Come on man. No need to seriously justify so much! Looking at it, straightway anyone can make out that it was made to be a joke!
TexDBoy
09-10 02:03 PM
Committee is still assembling .. proceedings not started yet after recess ..
2011 magnificently beautiful
NKR
03-17 10:16 AM
Another thing you need to consider is If anycase had a PD before sept 2004 and was filed for I-485 before July 2007. That must have got the approval unless there was a namecheck delay.
EB2 India PD came only up till April 2004 before it retrogressed. There is no way anybody whose PD is between April to Sept 2004 could have applied before July 2007. They might have applied only in July 2007 when USCIS made EB2 PD current by mistake.
EB2 India PD came only up till April 2004 before it retrogressed. There is no way anybody whose PD is between April to Sept 2004 could have applied before July 2007. They might have applied only in July 2007 when USCIS made EB2 PD current by mistake.
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kutra
03-03 06:36 PM
Folks,
Please help me in refining the message: I plan to send to some major media.
*****************************
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are an association of highly skilled immigrants, waiting for our permanent residency status. There are approximately one million such people in this situation.
Before we proceed to make our point, we would like you to consider the following facts regarding ourselves:
� Average age: 30-35 years
� Average years of stay in the USA (all legally): 7 years
� Average legal status in the USA: Final stage of the green card (called I-485 stage) and posses employment authorization document (EAD), renewable every year, indefinitely till one gets his green card.
� Average Salary: $75K+
� Average net worth: 100K-400K (mostly liquid)
� Average occupations: Information technology, Doctors and Financial Analysts
� Average education level: At least undergraduate
� Average credit history: Excellent
As mentioned earlier, we are in the final stage of our green card process and there are very few rejections (<1%) at this stage. It means that we would eventually get our green cards but it may take several years. Even though the chances of the rejection is very low but most people, out of fear, have been postponing any major investment decisions, like buying a house or a new car, in other words, living conservatively. In addition, due to the turmoil in the market, several of us, in spite of our excellent credit history, income and high liquid net worth may not qualify for loans as EAD is valid for only one year.
Our organization has been urging the government to fix the green card process or at the very least relax the hassles of the yearly renewal ordeal for EADs. Either of these things will bring certainty in our life and prompt some of us to take some big decisions.
We are writing to you with a hope that our situation will be highlighted and our intellectual and financial potential contribution to this country is appreciated.
We conducted a small poll on one of the websites used for organizing ourselves. Almost 60% of the respondents are postponing the decision because of the situation they are in. The poll can be found at http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=17660
Yours truly,
XYZ
Might not be extrapolation, but gross misrepresentation. Have you taken a poll or do you have any data to justify all the numbers you are including in the e-mail? If yes, then include the links for that in the letter, otherwise no one is going to believe you.
Why, I can say, I have 10 billion dollars which I will donate to USCIS to improve their system if I get a GC right now.
Please help me in refining the message: I plan to send to some major media.
*****************************
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are an association of highly skilled immigrants, waiting for our permanent residency status. There are approximately one million such people in this situation.
Before we proceed to make our point, we would like you to consider the following facts regarding ourselves:
� Average age: 30-35 years
� Average years of stay in the USA (all legally): 7 years
� Average legal status in the USA: Final stage of the green card (called I-485 stage) and posses employment authorization document (EAD), renewable every year, indefinitely till one gets his green card.
� Average Salary: $75K+
� Average net worth: 100K-400K (mostly liquid)
� Average occupations: Information technology, Doctors and Financial Analysts
� Average education level: At least undergraduate
� Average credit history: Excellent
As mentioned earlier, we are in the final stage of our green card process and there are very few rejections (<1%) at this stage. It means that we would eventually get our green cards but it may take several years. Even though the chances of the rejection is very low but most people, out of fear, have been postponing any major investment decisions, like buying a house or a new car, in other words, living conservatively. In addition, due to the turmoil in the market, several of us, in spite of our excellent credit history, income and high liquid net worth may not qualify for loans as EAD is valid for only one year.
Our organization has been urging the government to fix the green card process or at the very least relax the hassles of the yearly renewal ordeal for EADs. Either of these things will bring certainty in our life and prompt some of us to take some big decisions.
We are writing to you with a hope that our situation will be highlighted and our intellectual and financial potential contribution to this country is appreciated.
We conducted a small poll on one of the websites used for organizing ourselves. Almost 60% of the respondents are postponing the decision because of the situation they are in. The poll can be found at http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=17660
Yours truly,
XYZ
Might not be extrapolation, but gross misrepresentation. Have you taken a poll or do you have any data to justify all the numbers you are including in the e-mail? If yes, then include the links for that in the letter, otherwise no one is going to believe you.
Why, I can say, I have 10 billion dollars which I will donate to USCIS to improve their system if I get a GC right now.
gc28262
04-11 02:07 PM
And you inferred this from EB3 Mexico becoming Unavailable in month of May.
This was not inferred from Mexico EB3. I was explaining why EB3 Mexico became unavailable. Any category becoming U is nothing alarming. It just means there are no more visas available for that category for that year.
As for April 2001, it is the dreaded date for EB3-I India. The reason being all 245(i) applicants had a PD of April-2001 or earlier. If you haven't read 245(i) and its impact on EB3-I, please educate yourself regarding 245(i).
This was not inferred from Mexico EB3. I was explaining why EB3 Mexico became unavailable. Any category becoming U is nothing alarming. It just means there are no more visas available for that category for that year.
As for April 2001, it is the dreaded date for EB3-I India. The reason being all 245(i) applicants had a PD of April-2001 or earlier. If you haven't read 245(i) and its impact on EB3-I, please educate yourself regarding 245(i).
more...
paskal
01-18 09:55 PM
just sent it to you
wasn't sure i could put a file here
wasn't sure i could put a file here
2010 Biltmore Estate
feedfront
09-23 12:19 PM
Just when i was wondering that we will have to wait till OCt 1 when new visa are avialable... I saw your message... If i was you i will wait too for next 5/6 days you have till oct to respond.
Does that mean there is still hope that we may see some activity on the cases who have responsed to RFEs or we have to wait till OCt 1 Chewing our nails?
Now my status changed to 'Initial Review' because post office returned my mail :confused: Within 12 hrs status changed from 'Card Production' (05.03 PM) to 'Initial Review' (06.33 AM).
I had updated my new address 3 yrs before and was confirmed by infopass appointment.
Does that mean there is still hope that we may see some activity on the cases who have responsed to RFEs or we have to wait till OCt 1 Chewing our nails?
Now my status changed to 'Initial Review' because post office returned my mail :confused: Within 12 hrs status changed from 'Card Production' (05.03 PM) to 'Initial Review' (06.33 AM).
I had updated my new address 3 yrs before and was confirmed by infopass appointment.
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Macaca
09-26 12:38 PM
Don't Drag India into everything!
Please, Have an open mind. Don't make statements like this.
IV has people from across the globe and each country has its own issues. We are trying to deal with the issues in the US and lets focus on that and not drag in other countries as examples (good or bad).
Thanks for saying it. Please do not hesitate to say it again and again and again ..., for
To sin by silence
when they should protest
makes cowards of men
Abraham Lincoln
Please, Have an open mind. Don't make statements like this.
IV has people from across the globe and each country has its own issues. We are trying to deal with the issues in the US and lets focus on that and not drag in other countries as examples (good or bad).
Thanks for saying it. Please do not hesitate to say it again and again and again ..., for
To sin by silence
when they should protest
makes cowards of men
Abraham Lincoln
hair Library, Biltmore Estate,
jonty_11
06-13 01:37 PM
Can Bush really do it?
Source - www.immigration-law.com
06/12/2007: How Successful Was Bush in Today's Lunch with GOP Leaders in the Hill?
* Senator Sessions reportedly said "Bush Should Back-Off." Additionally, the up-beat statement of the President on the plane to the U.S. from the trip in Europe yesterday and today's speech for the press after the lunch very much speak for itself that he has failed to twist arms of his party leaders to support and move ahead with the dormant compromise CIR bill in the Senate. Report also indicates that the Senate Majority Leader is not ready to change his mind unless Bush assures support from the Respublican Senators and Madam Pelosi, the House Speaker, maintains a position that unless the Senate passes the bill, she would not pick up CIR in the House. The news on Bush's plan to visit the Capitol building today raised hopes high in the CIR support communities and today's news should be certainly a disappointment. Read on.
Source - www.immigration-law.com
06/12/2007: How Successful Was Bush in Today's Lunch with GOP Leaders in the Hill?
* Senator Sessions reportedly said "Bush Should Back-Off." Additionally, the up-beat statement of the President on the plane to the U.S. from the trip in Europe yesterday and today's speech for the press after the lunch very much speak for itself that he has failed to twist arms of his party leaders to support and move ahead with the dormant compromise CIR bill in the Senate. Report also indicates that the Senate Majority Leader is not ready to change his mind unless Bush assures support from the Respublican Senators and Madam Pelosi, the House Speaker, maintains a position that unless the Senate passes the bill, she would not pick up CIR in the House. The news on Bush's plan to visit the Capitol building today raised hopes high in the CIR support communities and today's news should be certainly a disappointment. Read on.
more...
nandakumar
11-21 02:30 AM
I also got a letter with same information.
Today I got the second letter from USCIS regarding this request. The letter says they accepted the request and put in the pending que.
Also the letter says, "your request is deemed to constitute an agreement to pay any fees that may be chargeable up to $25.00" and continues and finally it says "most requests do not require any fees and if fees in excess of $25.00 are required, we will notify you beforehand"
Jusy wondering any one got this reply..
Today I got the second letter from USCIS regarding this request. The letter says they accepted the request and put in the pending que.
Also the letter says, "your request is deemed to constitute an agreement to pay any fees that may be chargeable up to $25.00" and continues and finally it says "most requests do not require any fees and if fees in excess of $25.00 are required, we will notify you beforehand"
Jusy wondering any one got this reply..
hot of the Biltmore Estate in
cool_guy_onnet1
02-20 03:29 PM
Dude. I am *so* not Ron Gotcher. :)
He was rushing and didn't give me any specifics for EB-3 India.
Just don't exhaust this resource and keep it down low.
Lets wait and watch- Go IV
He was rushing and didn't give me any specifics for EB-3 India.
Just don't exhaust this resource and keep it down low.
Lets wait and watch- Go IV
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house Biltmore Estate and Biltmore
chanduv23
02-16 08:13 PM
Completely understand.
On a related note, as pappu pointed out on another thread, it would be really nice if senior members, in general, who have got GCs in the past years continue to stay involved since their past advocacy experience is greatly valuable. Several such senior members have continued to stay involved but some have taken a back seat after "getting greened". Ideally, it should be the opposite - shouldnt getting a GC inspire us to be further involved in the process and get the issue resolved?
I agree with you. I thought about it and decided to come to DC. I was greened last year and definitely IV was a very big factor in my GC journey. I have not been logging onto IV for a while as I have been very busy with my personal life, and job tensions, kid etc.. and all sorts of other things.
After GC, your life usually changes only if you want it to change. I am still in the process of understanding how best to change. As of now, nothing changed - not even my job :).
I am surprised that people still do not want to help themselves. I see everyone looking at the visa bulletin and getting frustrated, but why do people n ot take the extra step?, I really don't understand. I urge members to come forward and help yourselves. - Please.
On a related note, as pappu pointed out on another thread, it would be really nice if senior members, in general, who have got GCs in the past years continue to stay involved since their past advocacy experience is greatly valuable. Several such senior members have continued to stay involved but some have taken a back seat after "getting greened". Ideally, it should be the opposite - shouldnt getting a GC inspire us to be further involved in the process and get the issue resolved?
I agree with you. I thought about it and decided to come to DC. I was greened last year and definitely IV was a very big factor in my GC journey. I have not been logging onto IV for a while as I have been very busy with my personal life, and job tensions, kid etc.. and all sorts of other things.
After GC, your life usually changes only if you want it to change. I am still in the process of understanding how best to change. As of now, nothing changed - not even my job :).
I am surprised that people still do not want to help themselves. I see everyone looking at the visa bulletin and getting frustrated, but why do people n ot take the extra step?, I really don't understand. I urge members to come forward and help yourselves. - Please.
tattoo Biltmore Estate is just three
vagish
04-04 03:57 PM
If you want a good discussion on a topic stop generalizing things and do not use rants like racist engineers etc. When you make an assumption please be clear about. You have assumed most people work for consulting companies and most people are frustrated with it. Not so. I don't work for them and I am not frustrated with them. My only concern with them is they are exploiting the system to their advantage and at my cost. This has two fold affect not only the take cut from your salary but also put a bad name to H1B visa program in general. Whoever wrote the bill or whatever are the consequences there is definitely some good things in that bill. Let me list out how some provisions are good:
1. If you are employable in US and you have the skills you will get the job with or without these middlemen. They come into picture only because they can start a corporation and then start the exploitation game. If a bill is taking these guys out what's wrong with it ? This will allow genuine corporations to hire the right candidates.
2. Putting 30 days of ad. to hire US citizens first ? What's wrong with it ? If their skills are really outdated and you are the best and the brightest you will get the job.
If you need more evidence of why H1B program needs reform look no further than H1B cap used up on first day. This has put good undue hard ship for good candidates while Infosys/Wipro etc will once again take the lion's share of H1B numbers. Why do you want them to win at your cost ? Stop calling people affected by this mess as "Racist Engineers". Try to put yourself in their shoes and some of these practices are affecting both the H1B visa holders (with indentured servitude) and citizens with wage depression. No body wins in the end but the people who are exploiting the system.
completely agree.
1. If you are employable in US and you have the skills you will get the job with or without these middlemen. They come into picture only because they can start a corporation and then start the exploitation game. If a bill is taking these guys out what's wrong with it ? This will allow genuine corporations to hire the right candidates.
2. Putting 30 days of ad. to hire US citizens first ? What's wrong with it ? If their skills are really outdated and you are the best and the brightest you will get the job.
If you need more evidence of why H1B program needs reform look no further than H1B cap used up on first day. This has put good undue hard ship for good candidates while Infosys/Wipro etc will once again take the lion's share of H1B numbers. Why do you want them to win at your cost ? Stop calling people affected by this mess as "Racist Engineers". Try to put yourself in their shoes and some of these practices are affecting both the H1B visa holders (with indentured servitude) and citizens with wage depression. No body wins in the end but the people who are exploiting the system.
completely agree.
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pictures Biltmore Estate Pictures
satishku_2000
07-09 04:03 PM
delhi..
what is your PD?
what is your PD?
dresses Biltmore Estate This Week.
qasleuth
01-25 10:54 AM
It is time for new ideas and creative solutions. Here are my ideas:
1. We cannot make this an Indians only campaign:
Get get participation from folks of other countries. This is extremely important. I understand people from India are probably the highest number waiting to get a GC but we HAVE TO make this a broader effort.
How?: Contact 'leaders' from other countries. Not on these forums but through personal contacts. There are too many immature kids on these forums for any meaningful dialog.
2. MAke IV a membership only website (Forums atleast):
This gaurantees steady flow of funds. What do members get in return ? Access to forums, updates, action items/progress, bi-weekly Newsletter etc. Membership can be as low as $5 a month.
3. Funding Drives:
Fantastic efforts were made from many IVians. Get more creative (Dinner where you pay for your seat - $20 per head?), get people from other nationalities involved (Indian Sub-continent, China, Philiphines, Indonesia etc).
4. Make this effort more than getting a green card:
This is perhaps the most important if we can pull it off. Get green card holders and naturalized Citizens involved. This will give 'bite' to our effort (imagine going to your congressman with leading members of the local immigration population). Advantage: Funds, publicity, connections to politicians etc. Members will get the advantage of a platform and derive benefit from numbers.
How?: IV should become a platform for 'immigration issues' in general. Charity, cultural assimilation, job board, getting involved in local politics etc.
5. Clean up forums/discussion board:
Get rid of politics, religion discussions, period. Do not allow divisive nonsense.
1. We cannot make this an Indians only campaign:
Get get participation from folks of other countries. This is extremely important. I understand people from India are probably the highest number waiting to get a GC but we HAVE TO make this a broader effort.
How?: Contact 'leaders' from other countries. Not on these forums but through personal contacts. There are too many immature kids on these forums for any meaningful dialog.
2. MAke IV a membership only website (Forums atleast):
This gaurantees steady flow of funds. What do members get in return ? Access to forums, updates, action items/progress, bi-weekly Newsletter etc. Membership can be as low as $5 a month.
3. Funding Drives:
Fantastic efforts were made from many IVians. Get more creative (Dinner where you pay for your seat - $20 per head?), get people from other nationalities involved (Indian Sub-continent, China, Philiphines, Indonesia etc).
4. Make this effort more than getting a green card:
This is perhaps the most important if we can pull it off. Get green card holders and naturalized Citizens involved. This will give 'bite' to our effort (imagine going to your congressman with leading members of the local immigration population). Advantage: Funds, publicity, connections to politicians etc. Members will get the advantage of a platform and derive benefit from numbers.
How?: IV should become a platform for 'immigration issues' in general. Charity, cultural assimilation, job board, getting involved in local politics etc.
5. Clean up forums/discussion board:
Get rid of politics, religion discussions, period. Do not allow divisive nonsense.
more...
makeup Years ago,iltmore estate
bank_king2003
04-09 04:29 PM
Dude i must say, it must have taken a huge effort to come up with all this. But guess what, it wont make a dent. There are way too many Indians, Chinese and Mexicans in line and too few GC's to give out.
You are right that it wont make any dent not becasue of the numbers of indians, chinease or mexicans but because we failed to identify the problem at a basic level.
if we have a clear answer and hold on following questions i think then only we can make USCIS/DOS to behave.
1) Is USCIS or DOS accountable for anything? if they do anything wrong can we do anything?
2) If USCIS post incorrect and bogus numbers of demand do we have a right or anything to challenge them?
3) If USCIS says that they are doing quarterly spillover and don't do that can we do anything legally?
You are right that it wont make any dent not becasue of the numbers of indians, chinease or mexicans but because we failed to identify the problem at a basic level.
if we have a clear answer and hold on following questions i think then only we can make USCIS/DOS to behave.
1) Is USCIS or DOS accountable for anything? if they do anything wrong can we do anything?
2) If USCIS post incorrect and bogus numbers of demand do we have a right or anything to challenge them?
3) If USCIS says that they are doing quarterly spillover and don't do that can we do anything legally?
girlfriend A Library View…at Afternoon
Pineapple
11-12 09:19 AM
Got my receipt letter from USCIS. The FOIA request has been put on the complex track.
By the way, since this is an IV action initiative, I think this thread should be a link on IV's main page as a headline instead of being buried in the forums..
By the way, since this is an IV action initiative, I think this thread should be a link on IV's main page as a headline instead of being buried in the forums..
hairstyles library at Biltmore Estate
gc_maine2
07-13 09:37 AM
JbpVisa,
Can you please take a moment to change the SPELLING to 'MURTHY", Please its misleading to members, and thanks for posting the information.
Can you please take a moment to change the SPELLING to 'MURTHY", Please its misleading to members, and thanks for posting the information.
vin13
11-11 04:12 PM
Pappu has already informed that with the limited resources they are not currently considering to actively persue regarding Quarterly Spillover.
So for now, we need to do what we can by ourselves.
So for now, we need to do what we can by ourselves.
pappu
07-01 10:22 PM
Info on the lawsuit by AILA:
==============
USCIS VISA BULLETIN/
VISA AVAILABILTY LAWSUIT
Frequently Asked Questions about Participating in this Lawsuit
AILF is considering filing a lawsuit in federal district court against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) over its rejection of otherwise properly filed adjustment of status applications for the alleged reason that a visa was not available, even though the Visa Bulletin from the Department of State (DOS) states that a visa was available at the time of filing.
Any foreign national who is otherwise eligible for adjustment of status and whose adjustment of status application has been or will be returned or rejected solely on this basis may be eligible to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit. If you are considering being a participant in this lawsuit, you may find the following frequently asked questions and answers helpful.
Q: What is AILF?
A: The American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the rights of immigrants and refugees and to securing fair and just application and administration of the U.S. immigration laws. In order to achieve these goals, AILF sometimes files lawsuits involving various aspects of immigration law.
Q: What is this lawsuit about?
A: This lawsuit will be filed by plaintiffs who have been harmed because USCIS rejected or returned or is expected to reject or return a properly submitted adjustment of status application for the alleged reason that no visa was immediately available even though the DOS Visa Bulletin states that a visa was available at that time.
To be eligible for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status, a foreign national must show that a visa number is “immediately available.” USCIS regulations state that the DOS Visa Bulletin is used to determine whether a visa number is immediately available. This Bulletin is published once a month and lists the visa availability dates for all categories of immigrants for the following month. Thus, for example, the July 2007 bulletin, listing visa availability dates for the entire month of July, was published in June 2007.
AILF has learned that USCIS has refused to allow certain adjustment of status applications to be filed even though the DOS Visa Bulletin states that visa numbers are available for the immigrant category at that time. USCIS rejected these applications because DOS informed it in an internal communication that no visa numbers remained for that category of immigrants. To date, this has happened only in the employment-based “other worker” category. We anticipate that it may happen in a number of other types of employment-based immigrant categories beginning in July 2007.
We believe USCIS violated the law when it failed to apply the visa availability dates listed in the Visa Bulletin, as required by a federal regulation, and instead rejected properly filed adjustment applications. Through this lawsuit, we will challenge the rejection of adjustment of status applications on this basis. We will ask the court to order USCIS to accept the rejected adjustment applications and treat them as being filed as of the date they originally would have been filed had USCIS not rejected them.
Q: What is a “plaintiff” and how do I know if I am eligible to be a “plaintiff” in this lawsuit?
A: A plaintiff is a person who files a lawsuit against someone else. We are still determining the categories of plaintiffs but an eligible plaintiff for this lawsuit may include:
[other worker category]
A foreign national who:
Submitted an adjustment of status application in the “other worker” category for receipt by USCIS in June 2007; and
Is otherwise eligible for adjustment of status; and
Did not receive a receipt notice, cancelled check, or notice of approval of the adjustment application.
[other employment-based categories]
A foreign national who:
Submitted an adjustment of status application in any employment-based category other than “other worker” for receipt by USCIS in July 2007; and
Is otherwise eligible for adjustment of status; and
Did not receive a receipt notice, cancelled check, or notice of approval of the adjustment application.
Q: Why should I be a plaintiff in this lawsuit?
2
A: If the lawsuit is successful, USCIS should accept your adjustment application and treat it as if it had been filed as of the date that you originally tried to file it. Because your adjustment application will then be considered to be pending before the agency, you may be eligible for interim benefits, including an employment authorization document, advance parole, and others.
What the lawsuit will not do is make a visa number immediately available to you if none is available. If the visa numbers have in fact been used for the current fiscal year, the court does not have the authority under the law to make a new number available to you. However, if the court orders that USCIS accept your adjustment application as of the date that you originally tried to file it, you will be at an earlier place in line when visa numbers become available again in the next fiscal year, October 1, 2007. Additionally, as mentioned, you may be eligible for interim benefits while you are waiting.
Q: What is likely to happen because of the suit?
A: Lawsuits are uncertain by nature. We cannot predict the exact outcome. However, other efforts to resolve these problems with USCIS have not succeeded. For this reason, we believe that a lawsuit is the only remaining possible way to resolve these problems.
Q: Will being a plaintiff in this lawsuit hurt my chances for permanent residence?
A: If an individual is otherwise legally entitled to have an application granted, the government cannot lawfully deny that application on the basis that the person is participating or participated in a lawsuit. If we believed the government was taking such action, we would complain to the lawyers representing the government and to the judge handling the case. In our experience, this retaliation has not happened.
Please be aware, though, that USCIS is likely to examine plaintiffs’ adjustment of status applications more closely than it otherwise might. It may ask the plaintiffs questions and ask for additional information about their adjustment applications or immigration status. See below regarding “discovery.”
Q: How much time must plaintiffs spend on this lawsuit?
A: Plaintiffs will have to provide us with the information and documentation we need in order to prepare the lawsuit. AILF will do most of the work in the lawsuit on paper. Depending on how the case proceeds, the government and its attorneys may want to ask the plaintiffs some questions about their case, either through written questions and answers or in person. This is called “discovery.” One type of discovery is a “deposition,” which is an interview where parties are asked questions about their cases.
Depositions are possible but not common in this type of case. In the event that discovery and/or depositions were required, an AILF attorney or an attorney working with us would assist plaintiffs to comply with any discovery requests, and would appear with plaintiffs at any deposition at no charge (see below). At a later stage, a plaintiff may be required to be present at
3
a hearing or a trial and possibly be asked to testify about their particular case, but this is quite rare.
Q: Will it cost me anything to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit?
A: AILF and any co-counsel will not charge any attorney’s fees for representing individuals in this lawsuit. AILF and any co-counsel also will pay the costs and expenses associated with the lawsuit, such as filing fees, copying, long distance calls, travel expenses for AILF attorneys and staff, depositions, transcripts, etc. In the unlikely event that an individual should be required to be present at a deposition, hearing or a trial, we may ask that he/she pay their own travel and lodging expenses, if any. Those expenses would be reimbursed if the lawsuit is successful and we recover costs.
Q: Will anyone know that I am a plaintiff in this lawsuit?
A: Lawsuits are public information, and are available as a public court document. Many courts now have lawsuits and other documents available electronically, accessible via the internet. Also, USCIS will, of course, know the identity of the plaintiffs. We also will discuss plaintiffs’ cases with any other lawyers working with us on the lawsuit. It also is possible that the media – newspapers, radio, or TV reporters – will see the court documents and decide to do a story on the lawsuit.
Q: What should I do if I am eligible and interested in being a plaintiff in the lawsuit?
A: Please quickly submit the Questionnaire for Potential Plaintiffs and send us the documents requested. If you do not have the Questionnaire, please send an email to visabulletin@ailf.org, and we will send it to you. You may also fax a request to AILF LAC at (202) 742-5619. Please indicate this is a question about the visa bulletin litigation.
If you have any questions that are not answered by this FAQ or the questionnaire, please send them to visabulletin@ailf.org or fax to (202) 742-65619, and we will respond. Thank you!
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USCIS VISA BULLETIN/
VISA AVAILABILTY LAWSUIT
Frequently Asked Questions about Participating in this Lawsuit
AILF is considering filing a lawsuit in federal district court against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) over its rejection of otherwise properly filed adjustment of status applications for the alleged reason that a visa was not available, even though the Visa Bulletin from the Department of State (DOS) states that a visa was available at the time of filing.
Any foreign national who is otherwise eligible for adjustment of status and whose adjustment of status application has been or will be returned or rejected solely on this basis may be eligible to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit. If you are considering being a participant in this lawsuit, you may find the following frequently asked questions and answers helpful.
Q: What is AILF?
A: The American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the rights of immigrants and refugees and to securing fair and just application and administration of the U.S. immigration laws. In order to achieve these goals, AILF sometimes files lawsuits involving various aspects of immigration law.
Q: What is this lawsuit about?
A: This lawsuit will be filed by plaintiffs who have been harmed because USCIS rejected or returned or is expected to reject or return a properly submitted adjustment of status application for the alleged reason that no visa was immediately available even though the DOS Visa Bulletin states that a visa was available at that time.
To be eligible for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status, a foreign national must show that a visa number is “immediately available.” USCIS regulations state that the DOS Visa Bulletin is used to determine whether a visa number is immediately available. This Bulletin is published once a month and lists the visa availability dates for all categories of immigrants for the following month. Thus, for example, the July 2007 bulletin, listing visa availability dates for the entire month of July, was published in June 2007.
AILF has learned that USCIS has refused to allow certain adjustment of status applications to be filed even though the DOS Visa Bulletin states that visa numbers are available for the immigrant category at that time. USCIS rejected these applications because DOS informed it in an internal communication that no visa numbers remained for that category of immigrants. To date, this has happened only in the employment-based “other worker” category. We anticipate that it may happen in a number of other types of employment-based immigrant categories beginning in July 2007.
We believe USCIS violated the law when it failed to apply the visa availability dates listed in the Visa Bulletin, as required by a federal regulation, and instead rejected properly filed adjustment applications. Through this lawsuit, we will challenge the rejection of adjustment of status applications on this basis. We will ask the court to order USCIS to accept the rejected adjustment applications and treat them as being filed as of the date they originally would have been filed had USCIS not rejected them.
Q: What is a “plaintiff” and how do I know if I am eligible to be a “plaintiff” in this lawsuit?
A: A plaintiff is a person who files a lawsuit against someone else. We are still determining the categories of plaintiffs but an eligible plaintiff for this lawsuit may include:
[other worker category]
A foreign national who:
Submitted an adjustment of status application in the “other worker” category for receipt by USCIS in June 2007; and
Is otherwise eligible for adjustment of status; and
Did not receive a receipt notice, cancelled check, or notice of approval of the adjustment application.
[other employment-based categories]
A foreign national who:
Submitted an adjustment of status application in any employment-based category other than “other worker” for receipt by USCIS in July 2007; and
Is otherwise eligible for adjustment of status; and
Did not receive a receipt notice, cancelled check, or notice of approval of the adjustment application.
Q: Why should I be a plaintiff in this lawsuit?
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A: If the lawsuit is successful, USCIS should accept your adjustment application and treat it as if it had been filed as of the date that you originally tried to file it. Because your adjustment application will then be considered to be pending before the agency, you may be eligible for interim benefits, including an employment authorization document, advance parole, and others.
What the lawsuit will not do is make a visa number immediately available to you if none is available. If the visa numbers have in fact been used for the current fiscal year, the court does not have the authority under the law to make a new number available to you. However, if the court orders that USCIS accept your adjustment application as of the date that you originally tried to file it, you will be at an earlier place in line when visa numbers become available again in the next fiscal year, October 1, 2007. Additionally, as mentioned, you may be eligible for interim benefits while you are waiting.
Q: What is likely to happen because of the suit?
A: Lawsuits are uncertain by nature. We cannot predict the exact outcome. However, other efforts to resolve these problems with USCIS have not succeeded. For this reason, we believe that a lawsuit is the only remaining possible way to resolve these problems.
Q: Will being a plaintiff in this lawsuit hurt my chances for permanent residence?
A: If an individual is otherwise legally entitled to have an application granted, the government cannot lawfully deny that application on the basis that the person is participating or participated in a lawsuit. If we believed the government was taking such action, we would complain to the lawyers representing the government and to the judge handling the case. In our experience, this retaliation has not happened.
Please be aware, though, that USCIS is likely to examine plaintiffs’ adjustment of status applications more closely than it otherwise might. It may ask the plaintiffs questions and ask for additional information about their adjustment applications or immigration status. See below regarding “discovery.”
Q: How much time must plaintiffs spend on this lawsuit?
A: Plaintiffs will have to provide us with the information and documentation we need in order to prepare the lawsuit. AILF will do most of the work in the lawsuit on paper. Depending on how the case proceeds, the government and its attorneys may want to ask the plaintiffs some questions about their case, either through written questions and answers or in person. This is called “discovery.” One type of discovery is a “deposition,” which is an interview where parties are asked questions about their cases.
Depositions are possible but not common in this type of case. In the event that discovery and/or depositions were required, an AILF attorney or an attorney working with us would assist plaintiffs to comply with any discovery requests, and would appear with plaintiffs at any deposition at no charge (see below). At a later stage, a plaintiff may be required to be present at
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a hearing or a trial and possibly be asked to testify about their particular case, but this is quite rare.
Q: Will it cost me anything to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit?
A: AILF and any co-counsel will not charge any attorney’s fees for representing individuals in this lawsuit. AILF and any co-counsel also will pay the costs and expenses associated with the lawsuit, such as filing fees, copying, long distance calls, travel expenses for AILF attorneys and staff, depositions, transcripts, etc. In the unlikely event that an individual should be required to be present at a deposition, hearing or a trial, we may ask that he/she pay their own travel and lodging expenses, if any. Those expenses would be reimbursed if the lawsuit is successful and we recover costs.
Q: Will anyone know that I am a plaintiff in this lawsuit?
A: Lawsuits are public information, and are available as a public court document. Many courts now have lawsuits and other documents available electronically, accessible via the internet. Also, USCIS will, of course, know the identity of the plaintiffs. We also will discuss plaintiffs’ cases with any other lawyers working with us on the lawsuit. It also is possible that the media – newspapers, radio, or TV reporters – will see the court documents and decide to do a story on the lawsuit.
Q: What should I do if I am eligible and interested in being a plaintiff in the lawsuit?
A: Please quickly submit the Questionnaire for Potential Plaintiffs and send us the documents requested. If you do not have the Questionnaire, please send an email to visabulletin@ailf.org, and we will send it to you. You may also fax a request to AILF LAC at (202) 742-5619. Please indicate this is a question about the visa bulletin litigation.
If you have any questions that are not answered by this FAQ or the questionnaire, please send them to visabulletin@ailf.org or fax to (202) 742-65619, and we will respond. Thank you!
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