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.
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