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IMMIGRATION NOVEMBER 29, 2024 | The Indian Eye 36

Biden’s Last and Best Gift to Legal

Immigrants: Advancing the Filing Dates in

the 2025 January Visa Bulletin to Current

BY CYRUS MEHTA & vancement of the filing dates The total allocation of ameliorative relief many in the gressed the EB dates substan-
KAITLYN BOX has not yet been proposed visa numbers in the employ- family and employment based tially the following month, and
thus far. President Biden has ment and family based cate- backlogs who are already in those who filed under the India
onald Trump’s recent one last chance to advance gories are woefully adequate. the United States and are eli- EB-3 in July-August 2007 wait-
reelection has sparked the filing dates in the January §201 of the Immigration and gible for adjustment of status ed for over a decade before
Dfears that restriction- 2025 visa bulletin, which will Nationality Act (INA) sets an under INA § 245. they became eligible for green
ist immigration policies will be announced during Decem- annual minimum family-spon- There is a legal basis for cards. More recently, the EB-2
abound come January 20, 2025 ber 2024. Adjustment of status sored preference limit of the significant advancement of India final action date was De-
onwards. During the time that applicants would also be able 226,000. The worldwide level the filing dates in the visa bul- cember 1, 2014 in the Septem-
remains of his presidency, to avail of other ancillary bene- for annual employment-based letin. INA §245(a)(3) allows ber 2022 Visa Bulletin. In the
President Biden can still act fits, such as obtaining employ- preference immigrants is at for the filing of an adjustment October 2022 Visa Bulletin for
to safeguard the immigration ment authorization document least 140,000. INA §202 pre- of status application when the following month, the FAD
system and implement poli- (EAD) and advance parole, scribes that the per-country “an immigrant visa is imme- for EB-2 India was abruptly
cies that support and benefit and the ability to exercise job limit for preference immi- diately available” to the appli- retrogressed to April 1, 2012,
immigrants through execu- portability under INA §204(j). grants is set at 7% of the total cant. 8 CFR 245.1(g)(1) links and then retrogressed even
tive action. Cyrus Mehta has Spouses and minor children annual family-sponsored and visa availability to the State further to October 8, 2011 in
long advocated for one such of primary applicants can employment-based prefer- Department’s monthly Visa the December 2022 Visa Bul-
solution – the advancement also EADs and advance pa- ence limits, i.e., 25,620. These Bulletin. Pursuant to this reg- letin. If a visa number was im-
of the filing dates in the State role after they file their I-485 limits were established in the ulation, an I-485 application mediately available in Septem-
Department’s Visa Bulletin, applications. Allowing more Immigration Act of 1990, and can only be submitted “if the ber 2022, an applicant under
allowing backlogged benefi- backlogged beneficiaries to since then, the US Congress preference category applicant EB-2 India with a priority date
ciaries of approved petitions to file their adjustment of status has not expanded these limits has a priority date on the wait- of December 1, 2014 or earlier
file their I-485 adjustment of applications would also ensure for well over three decades. In ing list which is earlier than the should have been issued per-
status applications. Although that the ages of these individu- 1990, the worldwide web was date shown in the Bulletin (or manent residence.
suggestions have been made als’ children could be protect- not in existence, and since the Bulletin shows that num- These three examples,
regarding other policies that ed under USCIS’s updated then, there have been an ex- bers for visa applicants in his among many more, illustrate
President Biden could imple- guidance relating to the Child plosion in the number of jobs or her category are current).” that “immediately available”
ment to aid immigrants, ad- Status Protection Act. as a result of internet based The term “immediately avail- in INA 245(a)(3), according
technologies and so many able” in INA 245(a)(3) has to the State Department, have
related technologies as never been defined, except never meant that visas were
well as a demand for for- as in 8 CFR 245.1(g)(1) by “a actually available to be issued
eign skilled workers many priority date on the waiting list to applicants as soon as they
of whom have been edu- which is earlier than the date filed. Rather, it has always
cated at US educational shown in Bulletin”, or if the been based on a notion of visa
institutions. Yet, the US date in the Bulletin is current availability at some time in the
legal immigration sys- for that category. future. Under the dual filing
tem has not kept up to The State Department dates system first introduced
timely give green cards has often advanced priority by the State Department in
to immigrants who con- dates although it was uncer- October 2015, USCIS ac-
tribute to the country. tain when a visa would actually knowledges that availability of
Due to the per country become available. It is not un- visas is based on an estimate
limits, till recently it was common for applicants to be of available visas for the fiscal
only India and China that eligible to file their I-485 appli- year rather than immediate
were backlogged in the cations in a particular month, availability:
employment based pref- only for the dates to retrogress When we determine
erences, but now under a month or two later. For ex- there are more immigrant vi-
the December 2024 Visa ample, in the April 2012 Visa sas available for the fiscal year
Bulletin all countries face Bulletin the EB-2 cut-off dates than there are known appli-
backlogs in most of the for India and China were May cants, you may use the Dates
employment preferenc- 1, 2010. A month later, the for Filing Applications chart
es. Still, India bears the EB-2 cut-off dates for India to determine when to file an
brunt disproportionately and China retrogressed to adjustment of status applica-
in the employment-based August 15, 2007 in the May tion with USCIS. Otherwise,
second and third prefer- 2012 Visa Bulletin. If the State you must use the Application
m of ences, and one study has Department was absolutely Final Action Dates chart to
CYRUS D. MEHTA & PARTNERS PLLC estimated the wait time to certain that applicants born determine when to file an ad-
be 150 years in the India
in India and China who filed justment of status application
EB-2! in April 2012 would receive with USCIS.

It would be ideal for their green cards, it would Taking this to its logical
Congress to eliminate not have needed to retrogress extreme, visa availability for

  the per country limits dates back to August 15, 2007. establishing the filing dates
   
­ and even add more visas Another example is when the may be based on just one visa
€
‚   to each preference cate- State Department announced being saved in the backlogged
gory. But Congress had that the July 2007 Visa Bulle- preference category in the
not acted since 1990, and tin for EB-2 and EB-3 would year, such as the India EB-3,
Biden can advance the
become current. Hundreds of like the proverbial Thanksgiv-
filing dates in the January thousands of applicants filed ing turkey. Just like one tur-
2 6th Floor 2025 Visa Bulletin to cur- during that period, but the key every Thanksgiving Day

    rent. This would provide State Department then retro- is pardoned by the President

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