Beginning May 1st,
the cutoff date for Employment-based 3rd preference (EB-3 Philippines) will be
rolled back to July 1, 2007 – a substantial set back from the April cutoff date
of October 1, 2014. This retrogression
of cutoff dates means that beginning on May 1st, immigrant visas will only be
available to persons with a priority date earlier than July 1,
2007. The period of retrogression is
expected to last through the summer, and possibly very much longer.
If you find any of
these terms confusing, you may wish to review Basics and Tips for Understanding the Visa Bulletin.
For anyone who has
been watching the Visa Bulletin for the last year, retrogression comes as no
surprise. The cutoff date for EB-3
Philippines has advanced 29 months since November, and almost seven years in
the last 12 months.
Effect of EB-3 Philippines Retrogression
If your priority date became current in the last year and you filed for permanent residence, you will not be harmed. Although you will not be granted Permanent Residence until your priority date is current again, you will continue to be eligible for employment authorization. Having a Permanent Residence application pending is usually much better than continually renewing your H-1B/H-4s. Also, for those whose application for residence are still pending, do not be too disappointed by this set back. Remember, it was the exceptionally rapid cut off date advancement that gave you the opportunity to file early for Permanent Residence in the first place.
If your priority date
is earlier than October 1, 2014, and you have not filed for Permanent
Residence, file quickly. Properly filed
I-485s received by USCIS on or before April 30th will still
be accepted.
Unlike those
applicants in the U.S. who already filed for Permanent Residence and are
allowed to remain with work permission, retrogression is especially harsh for
those waiting outside of the U.S. to consular process. The rapid advancement of cutoff dates create
a false belief that their wait for an immigrant visa will be short. Unfortunately, that may not be the
case. For immigrant cases still at the
National Visa Center, or cases yet to be started, the wait may now be lengthy.
The Department of State and USCIS will sometimes take special actions when notified of a pending retrogression for a particular country.
Special Actions by DOS and USCIS
The Department of State and USCIS will sometimes take special actions when notified of a pending retrogression for a particular country.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila
has already announced a plan to approve as many EB-3 cases as possible before
May 1st. This includes
allowing applicants with interview-ready cases to appear at the embassy without
an appointment to try to finalize their immigrant visas. The instructions for walk-in applicants, and
other useful information, can be found in this press release.
USCIS has also been known to sometimes give special treatment to certain Permanent Resident cases prior to a retrogression. When workloads permit, some older Philippine EB-3 cases in line to be processed may be given slight preference for final action. Today I received a Filipino EB3-based Adjustment approval that was not expected for another one or two months. I’m hoping this is a sign of more approvals to come in the next two weeks.
Go to the Most Recent Philippines-US Immigration Topics
View Qualifications of Attorney James W. Austin
Go To Austin & Ferguson, LLC Home Page+
