July 2, 2007 by Bradley Maged.

Please see the link to the DOS to the left regarding the unavailability of EB numbers beginning  on July 2, 2007 (today).  Also please see the note from our friends at the USCIS regarding this development.  Numbers for all Employment-Based categories will be unavailable through at least October 1, 2007.

This is an unprecedented and unfair action by the government that will have to be resolved through litigation. I will post information on how to request to be a plaintiff in the lawsuit that will be filed by AILF (American Immigration Law Foundation) as soon as it becomes available.

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July 2, 2007 by Bradley Maged.

This is the million dollar question. Many immigration lawyers and their staffs were working throughout the weekend filing as many I-485 applications as possible in the hopes that if the EB numbers retrogress, that cases received by the Service Center prior to the official notice of the retrogression (via a revised visa bulletin or whatever other concoction the government may come up with to reject cases) would be accepted for processing. Many cases will be filed this week, regardless of the guidance received. If cases are rejected, applicants may want to talk to their lawyers about the possibility joining a lawsuit that will probably be filed by AILF.

If numbers are not available but I-485 cases are accepted for processing, interim benefits such as work authorization and travel documents may be available while the adjustment application is pending. However, green cards will not be issued until the numbers become available.

I-485 cases filed should include all supporting documentation with the initial filing as the CIS will likely be looking for reasons to reject cases that are not necessarily related to the priority date not being current.

Cases with priority dates earlier than those posted in the DOS June Visa Bulletin (except in the EB3 Other Workers/Unskilled Workers category) that were properly filed, should be accepted for processing.

We should have more news on this craziness today or tomorrow.

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