Is your priority date near? If so, there is great news for you! (Update on the Visa Bulletin)

During this last month, the department of state issued a revised edition of the visa bulletin. With this revised edition of the visa bulletin, people whose priority date is a year away will be eligible to submit their adjustment of status application. In the meantime, they will be able to receive a work permit while they wait for their priority date to be current and for an interview to be scheduled.
The following are a few key points regarding the change.
What is a priority date?

•      A priority date is used to determine where an immigrant places in the visa queue.  The Priority Date is established on the date that the original Immigrant Petition was filed or when a Foreign Labor Certification was submitted to the Department of Labor.  One can think of the Priority Date as his or her “place in line” in awaiting visa availability.  The schedule of current priority dates is updated during the second week of each month on the Department of State’s, Visa Bulletin

What if my priority date is now current, what happens then?

• If your priority date is current, then these changes have no effect on your cases you can go ahead and apply for your adjustment of status.

What if my priority date is still years away, can I still get a work permit?

•      No, your priority date must be at least a year away in order for you to be able to submit your adjustment of status application.

What if I am outside of the country, can I still apply?
·      No, this change only applies to people who currently reside in the U.S.  For the people who are currently outside of the U.S., they have to wait for their priority date to be current in order to apply.

If you have any questions regarding this change you can contact our offices in San Jose, San Francisco or Pasadena at 408-293-2026.