Generally, DOS looks at the country of birth in determining whether a person is a national of a given country. As a result, persons who become citizens of other countries i. For general information on visa retrogression, please see our FAQ on this subject. Send Print Report. Fox Rothschild LLP. Published In: EB Foreign Nationals. Immigration Procedures. US Department of State. Visa Bulletins.
Generally, DOS looks at the country of birth in determining whether a person is a national of a given country. As a result, persons who become citizens of other countries i. For general information on visa retrogression, please see our FAQ on this subject.
For more information on the Visa Bulletin and country quota movements, including information about movement in the Family-Based Quotas, please see our DOS Visa Bulletin and Quota Movement page which includes detailed nationality-specific charts of quota movement for the past decade. In turn, this reduced use of immigrant visa numbers created the impression of visa availability in all employment-based categories.
When USCIS began to address the backlog in by processing adjustment of status applications at a faster rate, however, these available immigrant visa numbers were used up quickly.
Because so many visa numbers were quickly used up, there are fewer available, so the DOS had to set a limit on visa distribution in the EB-3 category. Stated another way, the number of people waiting in line for EB-3 visas did not significantly increase; instead, the number of visas being issued recently increased and resulted in a shortfall for certain countries. You are only affected by the current retrogression if you are from mainland China, India, or the Philippines and wish obtain your green card through adjustment of status at USCIS or consular processing at a U.
If you fall into this category, you may face a significant delay possibly up to several years before you can apply to adjust status and obtain your green card. Although you may still file your I petition, you cannot file your I green card application separately or through concurrent filing or complete consular processing overseas until an immigrant visa number is available.
While you wait, your spouse and you will NOT be able to take advantage of benefits such as employment authorization and travel documents that are available when you file your visa petition and adjustment application concurrently. Although EB-3 is the only category currently affected, the EB-2 category is expected to retrogress for at least China and India some time this year.
If you filed your I either alone or concurrently with your I with USCIS by December 30, , your application will continue to be processed security checks, etc. In the meantime, you and your family will be allowed to remain in the United States and also remain eligible to apply for employment authorization and advance parole. If you already have an I green card application pending i.
Also, while your I applications remain pending, your family will continue to be eligible to file I applications for work authorization and I applications for advance parole, respectively. There may be other considerations, too, so you should plan carefully ahead of time and obtain competent legal advice on what you should do to stay in status and to continue to work and travel freely during the waiting period.
It depends on the demand for immigrant visas and the combined rate at which USCIS approves adjustment of status applications in the United States and U. The DOS continually evaluates the availability of visa numbers issues monthly Visa Bulletins showing whether the cut-off date has moved ahead or backward.
If you have an approved labor certification and a pending or approved visa petition, you may be able to extend or change your nonimmigrant status while waiting for an immigrant visa number to become available. Some of the nonimmigrant options include H-1 temporary worker visa, F-1 student visa, O-1 Alien of Extraordinary Ability visa, or L-1 Multinational Executive or Manager, or possibly other nonimmigrant categories.
If you are in H-1B, for example, you may obtain a one-time extension of status if you have reached the 6-year limit and your only barrier to adjustment is the per-country limit.
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