Permanent Solution to the July 2007 Visa Bulletin fiasco
http://nixstor.blogspot.com/2007/07/permanent-solution-to-july-2007-visa.html
There has been a lot of talk from last Friday over USCIS mulling on a permanent solution for July 2007 Visa bulletin. You might have already read it here and here. As I see, there is no permanent solution for USCIS to fix this, by themselves. Even if they create one, it will NOT be a permanent solution because their issue at hand right now is to put a lid over the current situation.
The only permanent solution
a) recapture wasted visa numbers from previous years
b) ability to forward the visa numbers for atleast one year to avoid pressure on using visa numbers in the same fiscal year leading to mishaps like the July 07 visa bulletin.
requires congressional intervention.
What else is NOT possible or possible in my opinion?
1) Allow filing of 485 and derivative benefits EAD/AP with out the priority date being current.
USCIS simply does not have the authority to allow people to file for AOS as soon as they have an I-140 approved. The law clearly states that an immigrant visa is immediately available to him at the time his application is filed. If USCIS does allow this, they are going to get slammed with law suits from various anti immigrant organizations and possibly will piss off congress. Some people have interpreted this differently as an administrative change, but its up to the interpretation/implementation of the folks at USCIS. Also, If USCIS really does this, people do not really need to check for the visa bulletin every month. I don't think that the state department will really be cool with that thought. Do you?
2) Allow beneficiaries to file for EAD/AP without filing for AOS
As of now, EAD/AP are derivative benefits of filing 485 and we have to see how USCIS will start interpreting this in the given situation. They have to make these non-derivate benefits of AOS/485. There are no assurances that they will not retract this after 6 months. This is not impossible, but it will not reduce any pressure on USCIS as the real benefit of using AC21 becomes unavailable. Before a beneficiary can use AC21, he/she must have an approved I 140 petition and an AOS/485 application pending for more than 180 days. The positive side of this is that, It will definitely help a lot of people whose spouses are not able to work. If USCIS does this, we have to see how the immigrant community and AILA/AILF react in terms of lawsuits.
My guess on what will happen tomorrow
USCIS will definitely not take chances in inviting more law suits. They will figure out how many visa numbers are available and might re-re-amend or re-revise the July visa bulletin and establish new cut off dates (or) possibly do it in the August 2007 visa bulletin. By doing so, USCIS & DOS can accept their original mistakes of making the dates current, making it unavailable and come up with a new cut off dates (perhaps in August bulletin) and leave the redress to the judicial system. B T W Does any one what the hell is happening with the AILF law suit? Its July 16th already.