News Update - June 21, 2008

By Alan Lee, Esq.^†‡

Current Immigration News that You Can Use - New Forms must be used; Last Chance to File EB-3 I-485 Applications Before Quota Closes; Identity Theft Issues in I-485 Applications

1 U.S.C.I.S. has new I-765 employment authorization and I-693 medical examination/ vaccination record forms which must be used after July 8, 2008 and July 14, 2008, respectively. Use of older forms following those dates will result in rejection of the I-765 and I-693 forms. Applicants using the older forms must ensure that the applications are received by U.S.C.I.S. by the above dates.

2 The July 2008 visa bulletin shows that the employment based third preference category (EB-3) will become unavailable in July and the Department of State has projected its continuing non-availability until October 1, 2008. The current availability of the EB-3 category for June is March 1, 2006 for most areas of the world, March 22, 2003 for natives of China, and November 1, 2001 for Indian-born. Individuals who have labor certification applications or I-140 immigrant visa petitions with priority dates which are earlier than the cutoff dates for June can still submit I-485 adjustment of status applications to U.S.C.I.S. by June 30, 2008. If able to do so, they will save themselves months of processing once the EB-3 dates reopen in October.

3 The criminalization of immigration violations as seen in the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant episode in Postville, Iowa, where federal prosecutors used identity theft charges to obtain 5 month criminal sentences against 260 illegal aliens seems to portend an ominous trend in immigration law enforcement in which the formerly pro- immigrant Bush administration is now using all possible means to expel illegal immigrants. But even past the raids on factories, applicants for I-485 adjustment of status should be aware that use of another person's Social Security card may also subject them to identity theft charges, for which they may encounter difficulties obtaining permanent residence if U.S.C.I.S. discovers this in the course of their application process.

† The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

‡ This article © 2008 Alan Lee, Esq.

Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.