Early Filing of Adjustment of Status Application and Work Authorizations available October 2015

Early Filing of Adjustment of Status Application and Work Authorizations available October 2015

The Department of State and the USCIS revised the procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file for adjustment of status. The revised procedure will be available beginning October 2015.

In the past, an adjustment of status applicant cannot file for adjustment of status until their priority date is current. The priority date is generally the date when the relative or employer petition is properly filed with the USCIS. For employment based petitions that require a labor certification, the priority date is usually the date the labor certification is accepted by the department of labor. This applies to both family based and employment based petition.

Under the revised procedure, there will be a separate chart for the adjustment of status filing dates and a separate chart for the application final action dates. The adjustment of status filing dates would allow applicants to file adjustment of status application early even if their priority date is not yet current under the final action date chart. This will allow the applicants to obtain work authorization while their adjustment of status is pending. Having a work authorization card allows applicants to obtain a social security number and identification and or driver’s license.

This revised process is meant to improve the DOS’s ability to more accurately predict overall immigrant visa demand and determine the cut-off dates for visa issuance published in the Visa Bulletin.

The new adjustment of status filing date for October 2015 is listed below:

October 2015

Dates for Filing Family-Sponsored Adjustment of Status Applications

Dates for Filing Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications

Applicants with priority dates earlier than the above stated dates may be eligible to file for adjustment of status right now so it is important to check your “priority date” as shown in the notice of action/ receipt to your I-130, I-140, and or your labor certification against the above dates and categories to determine if you are now eligible to file for adjustment of status under the revised procedure.

Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC. This article is not a solicitation.

Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive former CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kureyeslaw@gmail.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com