Update: Visa Bulletin Update FY 2023
Visa Bulletin Update FY 2023
Proffered Wage Must Exceed State’s Minimum Wage, Not Just the Prevailing Wage (Federal)
As DOL continues to experience delays in issuing PWD and adjudicating PERM applications, employers must be careful when setting the proposed wage during the PERM process. It must exceed not just the prevailing wage as set by DOL but also exceed the state's (where worksite is located) minimum wage. You do not want to wait 1.5 to 2 years for the PERM to be certified only to find that the I-140 was...
Visa Bulletin Update FY 2023
September 2023 September 2023 Visa Bulletin Highlights Family-Sponsored Second Preference (F2A) Retrogression: A significant update has been made regarding the F2A category. A cutoff date of 09/01/2023 has been assigned to the dates of filing chart. This indicates that I-485 based on F2A should be filed within this month, August 2023. Steady Employment-Based Number Use: Employment-based number...
I-485 EB Processing Time (Filed in FY 2023)
Update August 4, 2023 In this update, we have a sample I-485 EB approval for an EB3 skilled worker application. This case was filed on December 19, 2022, and it was approved on July 26, 2023. It took a total of 7 months in processing time, which is significantly shorter than posted timeframes on USCIS's website. It's important to note that the USCIS is currently making concerted efforts to...
Sample EB1A Approvals
October, 5, 2023 Here's an EB1a approval that we received in August for a proficient individual specializing in Biomechanics Modeling and Simulation, with around 100 citations and 9 publications. Also had to deal with a challenging 'give me everything' RFE. We also received one in September for a Structural Engineer, who had about 20 publications and 250 citations. This was a straight approval...
Adjustment of Status follows the Dates of Filing Chart for October 2022
Please follow the dates of filing chart for filing I-485 in October 2022. For EB2/EB3 China or India, it's about a month to 3 months difference compared to the final action chart.
Some TPS Holders May Now Be Considered “Inspected and Admitted” and Be Eligible For Adjustment of Status
On July 1, 2022, USCIS issued an update to its policy manual which clarified that Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries may be deemed eligible for adjustment of status to the extent that they meet the inspected and admitted requirement following a return from authorized travel. TPS beneficiaries who travel abroad temporarily, with the prior consent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security...
Is the New Estimated Case Processing Time Better than Before?
On May 5, 2022, USCIS announced changes to simplify and improve how the agency communicates case processing time data to the public. Users can now immediately find the processing time information for their particular type of case, rather than seeing an aggregate of all related case types. Additional changes include: Adding drop-down options for form categories will help narrow results to only...
USCIS Temporarily Increases Automatic EAD extension up to 540 days
Update July 7, 2022 USCIS has informed the public that some applicants may have received incorrect receipt notices showing the outdated 180-day automatic extension instead of the current 540-day automatic extension. The incorrect receipt notices were issued between May 4, 2022 and June 2, 2022. Affected applicants should be receiving the correct notices by the third week of July. Sample...
USCIS posts alert about “Transfer the Underlying Basis” and creates inflated expectations over EB I-485 applications
Update 06/28/2022 We are now seeing the results of the requests to transfer the underlying basis ("relink"). We started filing the requests in February. Below is a sample. In addition to sending out the written request to relink, our advice is to follow up on that request by calling USCIS and initiating a service inquiry. Client has both I-140 EB2 and I-140 EB3. I-140 485 EB3 Concurrent Filing...