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There is a Hope USCIS May Accept Some I-485s Filed in July Many people are speculating how USCIS will deal with the I-485s filed in July, 2007, although it announced on July 2 that all I-485s received on July 2 will be returned. So far, we haven't heard anything concrete from the government. Rumors are floating around. However, there are some signs indicating that things might turn to a favorable direction. Usually, the DOS releases the Visa Bulletin on or before 15th of every month. For example, on June 13, 2007, the DOS announced the visa bulletin for July, 2007. Up to now on July 16, 2007, DOS has not yet released the Visa Bulletin for August, 2007. Moreover, the USCIS has not returned the I-485 cases filed in July, although it claimed on July 2 these cases would be rejected. AILA and AILF are taking very active efforts to push the government to remedy the current situation. A class action litigation is being prepared now. Some legislators, for example, Congressman Zoe Lofgren, Chairwoman of Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security & International Law of the US House, are demanding the government to take some actions to fix the debacle too. According to a recent Editorial by New York Times titled “Immigration Malpractice”, USCIS is usually slow in processing I-485 cases and inaccurate in the logistics. Since 2000, 182,694 visa numbers have been wasted because USCIS did not process them in time or failed to communicate with the State Department timely. The State Department said it made the visa numbers available for most EB categories immediately available on the bulletin released on June 13, 2007 to ensure that every available visa number would be used this time. USCIS officers at TSC and NSC worked very hard through the weekend right before July 2, 2007 and processed over 25,000 I-485 applications on that weekend. To those immigrants whose I-485s were approved, the July 4th is an American holiday to celebrate. To those who just filed I-485s or planned to file I-485s in July, this July 4th is a good rest on the road to their American Dream. Based on the quick work by USCIS, on Monday, July 2, 2007, the State Department announced that all 140,000 employment-based visa numbers had been used and no I-485 applications based on EB would be accepted. Politically, we think that the timing of the announcement right before July 4th was hardly American. The planned USCIS filing fees hike makes the situation more complicated. Immigration Attorney Alan Lee suggested that the USCIS's sudden fast processing on I-485 cases recently were geared to prevent a rush of filing I-485s before July 30, 2007 at the lower filing fees. However, this suggestion can not explain the suspension of premium processing of I-140 from July 2 to August 1, 2007 by USCIS in which USCIS gives up revenues at the rate of $1,000 per premium processing request. Therefore, there are many rumors floating around. In addition, on July 16, An Article on Wall Street Journal predicted that USCIS is very likely to accept some I-485 applications filed in July, 2007. On July 16, AILA made its efforts to dispel rumors by stating that there has been nothing resolved at this point of time. However, AILA doesn't deny the possibility for some positive actions from the government either We believe there are some grounds to expect some favorable changes from USCIS. USCIS may accept some applications filed in July. If that happens, there are four possibilities: 1) USCIS may accept I-485s filed in July for visa numbers for EB1 are usually available; 2) USCIS may accept I-485s filed on July 2 and July 3, 2007, as the Visa Bulletin from the DOS stated that visa numbers were available when these cases were filed; 3) DOS may make visa numbers available for traditional non-backlog countries; or 4) the best, USCIS accepts all cases filed in July but processes them after October 1, 2007. Nevertheless, here is a more credible rumor: USCIS and DOS are discussing the current situations with a hope to find a resolution for the debacle. We may reasonably expect that USCIS will make an announcement on July 17 regarding what they call an equitable solution related to the July I-485 applications. We would not suggest further filings of I-485s based on EB until we have an official announcement from the USCIS or DOS. Nevertheless, as we suggested before, you need to stay cool and file your I-140 as soon as possible if you have not done so. As the New York Times Editorial correctly said “The good news is that immigrants' hope is pretty much unquenchable.” At Zhang & Associates, we believe in the immigrants' American dream and federal governmental officials' equitable resolution in protecting American dreams. To that end, as we urged before, we all need to contact Congressmen and Congresswomen to voice our concerns or write to newspapers or media.
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