If you have travel plans, you may not want the law firm to file your AOS during the month of July. Please note this is a personal choice. If the law firm has not filed your AOS case and you want the law firm to file your AOS during the month of July, please contact me if you have not already done so. All documents must be completed such as medical exams, questionnaires, birth certificates, etc. The law firm will need all documents by July 20th or you can check with the paralegal or attorney that is handling your case.
To: EDS Employees & Managers impacted by the DOS July Visa Bulletin
I am aware of your frustration when the Department of State released a bulletin stating all priority numbers are current in July and then USCIS states they will reject Adjustment of Status delivered on or after July 2, 2007. This email is intended to provide an update concerning the recent actions by the Department of State in issuing a revised July Visa Bulletin and the announcement of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that it will reject any Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications filed in July. AOS applications that are delivered at USCIS service centers on or after July 2 will be rejected and returned without action.
The original July Visa Bulletin, released June 14, 2007, provided the opportunity for all categories of employment based green cards to file an AOS application for any employee with an approved labor certification. At that time, the Department of State assured the public that the filing deadline would extend through at least August and maybe into September. However, USCIS began requesting and using all the visa numbers they could, so they would not have to accept cases that were filed in July. USCIS’ tactic was effective and the Department of State reacted by issuing an announcement on July 2, 2007 that all employment based visa numbers had been used and that no additional visa numbers would be available until October 1, 2007. The actions of USCIS and DOS are unprecedented in the modern history of priority dates and visa numbers. The result is that all individuals that were eligible to file an AOS application in July will have their AOS applications rejected until at least October 1, 2007.
In response to these actions, the American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) and several other entities are preparing class action lawsuits against USCIS which could allow applicants to benefit by filing cases in July, even though USCIS has stated that these applications would be rejected. The lawsuits seek to establish two classes of applicants: (1) foreign nationals who ted AOS applications in July 2007 based on the June 13, 2007 Visa Bulletin that were rejected by USCIS; and (2) foreign nationals who were eligible to AOS applications in July 2007 but did not chose to file based on the July 2 announcements.
The first class of applicants would have a stronger legal claim for potential benefits under the lawsuit because they can demonstrate reliance on the original July Visa Bulletin. Individuals who are eligible but do not file may be included in the second class under the lawsuits, but their legal claims and eligibility for benefits are not as clear as those who took the extra step to actively file the application. It is still too early to anticipate the results or timing of these lawsuits, but EDS Immigration has requested Berry Appleman & Leiden to proceed with filing your AOS application in July.
Please note that you are not required to file an AOS application to be included within the second group of individuals under the class action lawsuits. Filing an AOS application now will impact your ability to travel outside of the US until after your case is officially rejected by USCIS. Furthermore, we are filing AOS applications anticipating they will be rejected. If your AOS application is rejected, you will not be eligible for an Advance Parole (AP) travel document or an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). EDS will continue to maintain your current nonimmigrant status.
Please respond to this email by no later than Tuesday, July 17th, if you do NOT want BAL to proceed with filing your AOS application in July. Due to the volume of AOS applications that are affected by these recent changes, BAL must receive your completed online questionnaire and all documents (including medical exams) in their office by no later than Tuesday, July 24. AOS applications will be processed by BAL in the order in which completed document packets are received, and documents received after July 24 will not be able to be processed in time for filing in July.
EDS understands how important the green card process is to you and we want BAL to file your AOS petition in July in the hope that you could receive a benefit through this litigation.