The Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for July 2008 indicates that employment-based third preference (EB-3) will be "unavailable" in July, and will remain unavailable for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2008 (i.e. until October 2008). All other EB categories are unchanged from the June Visa Bulletin.

EB-3 becoming "unavailable" means that no EB-3 adjustment of status applications will be accepted by USCIS after June 30, 2008, regardless of priority date. Persons who presently have an EB-3 adjustment of status application (Form I-485) pending at USCIS will see these applications held until their priority dates become current and available.

In discussing the July Visa Bulletin, DOS advises that making EB-3 unavailable was necessary due to high demand for numbers in this category, principally by USCIS for adjudication of I-485 applications. DOS states that the annual numerical limit for EB-3 will be exhausted by the end of June. However, EB-3 "will return to the cut-off dates established for June in October, the first month of the new fiscal year." This means that we anticipate any person who was current under EB-3 in June will be current again in October.

Again, beginning July 1, 2008, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will not accept any new EB-3 category I-485 adjustment of status applications, regardless of the priority date or the nationality of the applicant. Jackson & Hertogs encourages all individuals in the EB-3 category who are eligible to file an I-485 application to do so before June 30, 2008. Such an application must be received by USCIS no later than June 30, 2008, which means that applications must be filed by June 27, 2008. If the I-485 application is received by USCIS on or before June 30, 2008, the applicant is eligible to apply for both the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Advance Parole (AP) while the I-485 remains pending. USCIS will also not be able to adjudicate any pending I-485 in the EB-3 category until the underlying priority date becomes current. For persons with pending EB-3 AOS applications that are current under the June 2008 Visa Bulletin, they will be current again in October 2008, based on the DOS guidance.

There were no changes in any other employment-based category on the July Visa Bulletin. However, DOS advises that EB-2 for India and China (currently cut off at April 1, 2004) may require adjustment, if it appears that EB-2 applicants from "all other countries" would utilize all available EB-2 numbers for the fiscal year.

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.

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