LCA Update (11-13-2000) [Top]
The Department of Labor has announced that as of November 13, 2000, they are processing cases received on or after October 23, 2000.

Highlights from the November 01, 2000 CSC Liaison Meeting (11-03-2000)  [Top]

New Legislation

• CSC was not in a position to comment on the new legislation – they will wait for guidance and the regulations from Central Office in Washington, D.C.

Immigrant Visa Petitions 

• Processing time for I-140 employment visa petitions is approximately 90 days, assuming a visa number is immediately available.

  NOTE: Cases beyond this processing time will be identified and an inquiry will be faxed the week of November 6^th.
  

• CSC confirmed that the processing of I-140 employment visa petitions is based on visa number availability.  Thus, categories where a visa number is not immediately available will not be pulled for adjudication until the visa bulletin indicates that a visa number will be available the next month.  However, CSC hopes to allocate personnel resources to the adjudication of these petitions in the next few months.

  NOTE: There have been some approvals for petitions without a visa number being available.  This is an exception, however no inquiry can be made on a case unless a visa number has been available for a few months.

 Employment Authorization Cards

• CSC has been and continues to experience problems with the computer which produces EAD cards.  Although an application for an employment authorization card may be granted, a card may not be issued for some time as the computer problem is persisting.  CSC is to communicate with the local offices, so that the local offices will process interim employment authorization cards assuming a case has been pending for more than 90 days.

• This same problem exists for the issuance of Alien Registration Cards – thus there will be a delay in the issuance of these cards.

Request for Evidence 

• CSC explained that the computer is not updated with the receipt of the additional evidence submitted to their office until the evidence has been put in the file.  This can take a number of weeks.  Once the evidence is placed in the file, the file is then given to the Officer who was handling the case.  The Officer is to then process the case.  However, this could take an additional 30 days depending on the caseload of the Officer.  But these types of cases are to be adjudicated before the Officer continues to handle new cases.  (The case goes to the top of the Officer’s “pile”.)

Adjustment Applications 

• The JIT Report issued by the CSC indicates that the adjustment applications are “Vacant”.  This means there are no cases ready to be adjudicated.  The cases are for the most part awaiting the receipt of the FBI clearance.

• There are problems with the scheduling of fingerprints in that more than one notice may be issued.  Additionally, a number of third preference employment cases have recently received notices for re-fingerprinting – it appears that the CSC has received a directive to make sure these cases are ready to be adjudicated when a visa number becomes available.

• For those clients who have not yet been scheduled for fingerprinting, a fax will be sent to the unit to bring this issue to their attention.

• The CSC plans to contact the local offices to encourage them to process fingerprints with the attorney’s courtesy copy of the notice, if the applicant did not receive the original notice.  Also, it will be discussed to have both spouses processed at the same time, even if only one received a notice.

LCA Update (10-25-2000) [Top]
The Department of Labor has recently announced that some 25,000 LCAs remain pending.  They are currently processing cases received on or after October 6, 2000.

H-1B Bills Signed by President (10-18-2000) [Top]
Yesterday evening, October 17, 2000, President Clinton signed the H-1B bills, which have now become law.  Effective December 17, 2000, the training fee for an H-1B will be increased from $500 to $1,000.  The H-1B cap has been increased to 195,000 for Fiscal Year 2001, beginning October 1, 2000.  Additional information will be posted later.

LCA Update (10-13-2000) [Top]
The Philadelphia Department of Labor (DOL) has recently advised that it is experiencing technical problems with its Faxback system.  As of October 11, 2000, 8,000 LCAs remain backed-up and faxes received on 09-25-2000 are being worked on.  The San Francisco Department of Labor, however, advises that its system is functional and that it is processing applications received 10-04-2000.

H-1B Fee Increase (10-13-2000) [Top]
On October 11, 2000, the Senate passed a bill, which was passed by the House on October 6, 2000, to increase the H-1B education and training fee to $1,000 from $500.  This bill along with the H-1B cap increase bill has been sent to President Clinton for signature.

Philippines Employment-Based Third Preference Potential Backlog (10-13-2000) [Top]
According to Charles Oppenheim of the State Department, a cut-off date for Philippines employment-based third preference may be established in December 2000.

Visa Waiver Program (10-13-2000) [Top]
On October 10, 2000, the House passed a permanent extension of the visa waiver program.  Since this measure is similar to the recently-passed Senate measure, the bill will go directly to President Clinton for signature.

New Immigration Bill Highlights (10-09-2000) [Top]
On October 3, 2000, both Houses passed the American Competitiveness in the 21^st Century Act – which is now awaiting the signature of President Clinton to take effect.  The following briefly summarizes some of the highlights of this bill:

H-1B Provisions

• H-1B visa cap is raised to 195,000 for the fiscal years 2001 through 2003.

• Employees of higher education institutions, nonprofit research organizations and government research organizations are not to be counted against the cap.

• An individual will be counted only once against the cap – even though multiple petitions may be filed on behalf of this single person.

• A person in valid H-1B status, who accepts new employment, may begin this new employment with the mere filing of the new petition with INS.  However, if this petition is denied, then the work authorization ceases.

 Employment-based Immigrants

• If in a calendar quarter, there are more visas available in all the employment-based preferences than the number of qualified immigrants who may be issued such visas, then the visas may be made available without regard to country of origin or the per-country ceilings.

• H-1B visa holders reaching the six-year limit who have a pending or an approved I-140, but are subject to the per-country limit, may receive extensions of H-1B status until a decision can be reached on their adjustment of status application.

• H-1B visa holders with a pending I-140 may extend their status beyond the six-year limit if 365 days or more have passed since the original filing date of their labor certification applications or their I-140 filing date.  The extensions shall be granted in one-year increments until a final decision is reached on their permanent residence.

• Employment-based adjustment applicants, whose I-485s have been pending for 180 days or more, may change jobs or employers without invalidating the underlying I-140 or labor certification, as long as the new job is the same or similar occupational classification as the one for which the petition was filed.

Highlights from the September 20, 2000 DOL/EDD/AILA Liaison Meeting (09-25-2000) [Top]

• Processing Times

  • As of September 15, 2000, processing times are as follows: Labor Condition Applications (LCA) > 09-19-2000, Reduction in Recruitment (RIR) > 09-19-2000 and non-RIR > 10-15-1997.

• Labor Condition Applications

  • When faxing to the Department of Labor, Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) are routed either to San Francisco or Philadelphia.  Historically, LCA processing has taken 7 - 21 days at Philadelphia and 1 - 14 days at San Francisco; this would explain the difference in processing times of LCAs faxed from this office.  The Department of Labor has requested that pending LCAs not be re-faxed if there appears to be a delay in processing, unless beyond the processing times of Philadelphia.

• Permanent Residence Labor Certifications

  • Between March and July 2000, a number of cases filed as non-RIR (non-waiver), which may have been eligible for Limited Review were not so identified.  A list of these cases from this office is being faxed to assist the government in identifing such cases for reconsideration.  The government was not in a position to provide time estimates because of the labor-intensive work involved in locating these cases.

Delay of File Audit at the California Service Center (09-22-2000) [Top]
The California Service Center will be conducting a file audit, which is expected to run from September 26, 2000 through October 4, 2000.  During this time, INS Direct will remain open and staffed, but movement of files will be frozen.  The other INS Service Centers are conducting a similar audit with approximately the same timeframe.

Congressional Vote on H-1B Visas (09-18-2000) [Top]
On Tuesday, September 19, 2000, a vote in the Senate is expected on a bill, which would increase the number of H-1B visas for Fiscal Year 2001, starting October 1, 2000.

Problems with California Service Center H-1B Processing (09-18-2000) [Top]
The California Service Center has recently discovered that there may have been some problems with delays or no notices being sent on some H-1B cases for two main reasons.  First, the CSC is currently working through a massive frontlog in data-entry, which has slowed down routing cases for adjudication from the mailroom and data entry process.  Second, the computer system malfunction experienced in August has resulted in approval data getting lost in the system, which has resulted in notices for a "very large chunk" of cases not being sent.  A large volume of approvals are now being "re-updated" and notices will be transmitted.

CSC Computer System Functioning (08-18-2000) [Top]
The computer system at the CSC is functioning again.  Beginning August 3 to August 12, 2000, the system was down, during which time receipts could no be generated for new cases filed.  During the system "downtime," the CSC stated that adjudications on cases continued without interruptions.  The task of updating the system on decisions made during the "downtime" is now being undertaken.

H-1B Cap Processing (08-15-2000) [Top]
INS has announced that it has begun to process Fiscal Year 2001 H-1B cap cases with a start date of no earlier than October 1, 2000.

LCA Update (08-15-2000) [Top]
Both the Philadelphia and San Francisco processing centers have begun to resume endorsing Labor Condition Applications after experiencing some severe technical difficulties for the past few weeks.  The processing centers appear to be endorsing applications that were faxed the end of July 2000.

Updates from the California Service Center Liaison Meeting (08-02-2000) [Top]
The following will outline some of the highlights for the CSC meeting held on August 1, 2000:

• I-140 Petitions (Employment-Based Visa Petitions)

  • The CSC has set a target processing time of 90 days.  CSC hopes to reach this processing time target by September 30, 2000.

  • However, the CSC will only process I-140s for those cases when a visa number is immediately available.  Thus, Second and Third Preference Chinese and India cases may not be adjudicated, if a visa number is not available.  Therefore, cases with priority dates after the dates listed on the Visa Bulletin will remain pending until a visa number becomes available.

  • CSC has been processing I-140s in "batches."  During the month of June, petitions filed as either "Extraordinary Ability" or "Outstanding Professor or Researcher" were processed.  During the first weeks of July, resources were allocated to the reduction in backlogs for petitions filed as either "Multinational Executive or Manager" or petitions filed under the Second Preference category.  In the final weeks of July and the beginning of August, CSC continues to process "Multinational Executive or Manager" petitions and petitions filed under the Third Preference category

  • Since April 2000, the CSC has processed / reviewed 15,000 I-140 petitions.

• H-1B Cases

  • INS expects to begin processing Fiscal Year 2001 H-1B cap-cases in August.  CSC is waiting to receive confirmation from Headquarters to begin adjudications.

  • The processing time for non-cap cases is approximately 60 days, and CSC hopes to maintain this processing time.

• Permanent Residence

  • The CSC has set a target date of processing adjustment applications in six months.  However, no indication was given as to when this processing time target would be reached.

  • As of May 15, 2000, the CSC had completed 5,880 adjustment applications.  As of last week, the CSC had completed over 8,500 adjustment applications.  The goal is that by September 30, 2000, the CSC will have completed processing 18,000 adjustment applications.

  • For those pending adjustment cases whose visa numbers are not available, a fingerprint appointment will not be scheduled until a visa number becomes available.

  • Once an inquiry is made for fingerprints, a follow-up inquiry can only be made two months later.

  • Approximately 24% of the I-485s are referred to the District Offices for interview.

• Audit

  • The CSC as well as other immigration offices are scheduled to have another audit performed during the last two weeks of September, during which files cannot be moved and, thus, the sending of approvals and/or communications will be delayed.

2002 DV Lottery (08-02-2000) [Top]
The State Department has announced the procedurres and addresses for entering the DV 2002 visa lottery.  Entries must be sent to the Kentucky Consular Center between October 2 and Novermber 1, 2000.

The following is the Federal Register Notice: HTML or PDF (124kb).

LCA Faxback System Malfunctioning (08-02-2000) [Top]
Both the San Francisco and Philadelphia DOL offices that receive LCA faxback filings have been experiencing technical problems.  These problems have delayed the endorsement of LCAs by approximately three weeks.

H-1B Cap Reached (07-25-2000) [Top]
INS has advised that the H-1B cap for fiscal year ending September 30, 2000 has been reached.  Cases with a filing date of March 17, 2000 or earlier would now have been adjudicated.  INS has indicated that 29,500 H-1B cap-cases are currently pending.  INS will announce procedures to begin the adjudication of these cases with a start date of October 1, 2000.

Adjustment of Status and Consular Processing (06-21-2000) [Top]
In response to an inquiry concerning filing an I-824 (request to transfer an approved employment-based petition to a consulate abroad) when there is a pending adjustment of status application at a service center, INS stated that they view these two processes as mutually exclusive.  Upon discovering that a case has been sent abroad, INS stated that it will assume that the adjustment of status application has been abandoned.

Visa Lottery (06-21-2000) [Top]
The Department of State has announced that the period for submitting entries for the fiscal 2002 Diversity Visa Lottery will be October 2, 2000 to November 1, 2000.  Additional instructions will be issued in August. 

H-1B Cap Case Processing (06-06-2000) [Top]
INS has now instructed the Service Centers to process H-1B cap cases with a filing date up to March 10, 2000.  

H-1B Cap Case Processing (05-19-2000) [Top]
INS has instructed the Service Centers to process H-1B cap cases with a filing date up to March 2, 2000.  Once all four Service Centers have processed cases to this date, INS will reassess where it stands with respect to the H-1B cap.

H-1B Cap Case Processing (05-11-2000) [Top]
INS HQ has instructed the Service Centers to process H-1B cap cases with a filing date of February 25, 2000 or earlier.  INS wishes to keep all the Service Centers processing cases at the same pace so that companies in one jurisdiction are not advantaged or disadvantaged over other companies in other jurisdictions.  February 25, 2000 is not necessarily the cut-off date for the H-1B cap.

Once all four Service Centers reach this date, INS will again review the cap situation and determine the next date to which reviewing can continue.  INS has urged the Service Centers to work on non-cap H-1B cases, especially the California Service Center, which has fallen significantly behind in the processing of non-cap cases.

Pause on H-1B Cap Cases Ends (05-01-2000) [Top]
According to the INS Director of Service Center Operations, the pause on H-1B cap cases that was imposed two weeks ago ends today.  The Service Centers are being instructed to process H-1B cap cases with a filing date up to February 18, 2000.  Apparently, only the California Service Center and the Vermont Service Center will be processing H-1B cap cases, as the Texas Service Center and the Nebraska Service Center have already reached this date. 

Pause on H-1B Cap Cases (04-21-2000)  [Top]
The INS has paused the processing of H-1B cap cases this week and will continue this pause for "a couple more working days."  The pause allows for "better management control" of the count and "better inventory control at the slower Service Centers" for all H-1B cap cases.

In the meantime, the service centers are processing non-cap cases.  The CSC has processed cases filed on November 23, 1999 and is now processing non-cap cases filed in December 1999.  The CSC's goal is to begin adjudicating cases filed in the year 2000 by the early part of next week. 

CSC Liaison Meeting Rescheduled (04-20-2000) [Top]
The California Service Center Liaison Meeting, which had been scheduled for May 10, 2000, has been rescheduled to May 23, 2000.  Highlights of the meeting will be posted after May 23, 2000.

Conversion of Non-Waiver to R.I.R. Cases (04-20-2000) [Top]
Department of Labor is projecting that the regulation to allow Non-Waiver cases to be converted to R.I.R. may be in effect as early as July 2000.

China EB-2 Retrogression - False Alarm (04-13-2000) [Top]
The State Department has announced that there will NOT be a further retrogression in May, as previously anticipated, for the China Second Preference Employment-Based visa numbers due to some unexpected spill-down from unused family numbers. 

China EB-2 to Further Retrogress (04-11-2000) [Top]
The State Department is projecting that China Employment-Based Second Preference will "seriously" retrogress in May, to a date that will be earlier than the date for China Employment-Based Third Preference.

The State Department is projecting that India Employment-Based Preferences will not retrogress any further at this time.

"Magic Words" for the I-129 (04-11-2000) [Top]
INS has advised that "10-01-2000 or earlier" may be written on Form I-129 under the start date.  This phrase would potentially allow an I-129 petition to be processed with a start date earlier than October 1, 2000, in the event that Congress allots more H-1B numbers for the Fiscal Year 2000. 

Highlights from the March 16, 2000 teleconference with DOL and AILA (04-11-2000) [Top]
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it was processing Non-Waiver Labor Certifications received October 2, 1996 and R.I.R. Labor Certifications received November 26, 1999.  There has been little progress on processing Permanent Labor Certifications since November 1999, because DOL has been experiencing data-entry problems with these cases.

The proposal to permit conversion of Non-Waiver Labor Certification cases to R.I.R. remains "pending" at the National Office.

H-1B Cap for Fiscal Year ending September 30, 1999: KPMG Count Analysis (04-11-2000) [Top]
KPMG has ascertained that the number of petitions approved and applied to the Fiscal Year ending September 30, 1999 cap falls within a range of 136,888 to 138,385.  Thus, according to the KPMG estimated range, INS approved between 21,888 and 23,385 petitions in excess of the 115,000 cap for the Fiscal Year 1999.

H-1B "Recapture Time" (04-03-2000) [Top]
Prior to August 1999, when an alien sought to extend an H-1B visa status beyond the six-year limit, one could recapture any time spent outside the United States.  Since August 1999, there are new guidelines.  Generally, if an alien continues any relationship with his H-1B employer, the alien will be ineligible to recapture H-1B time spent outside the United States.  However, since this position by the INS seems to contradict H-1B Regulations, INS Headquarters is reassessing its position.

H-1B Cap Adjudication (04-03-2000) [Top]
As of April 1, 2000, INS will be accepting and adjudicating H-1B cap cases that have requested a starting date of October 1, 2000 or later.  These cases of course will be processed after the current pending cases.

H-1B Cap - Federal Registry Notes (03-21-2000) [Top]
As of February 29, 2000, INS had recorded 74,300 approved petitions as well as 45,000 pending petitions against the 115,000 cap for the fiscal year 2000.  Therefore, sufficient pending petitions exist in the pipeline to satisfy the cap.  Any petition filed on or after March 21, 2000 that is requesting a start date of before October 1, 2000 will be rejected.  Thus, no H-1B visa petition subject to the cap can be filed at this time; however, on or after April 1, 2000, H-1B cap petitions may be filed provided that the start date is on or after October 1, 2000.  It would appear that any cases filed after March 1, 2000 will be processed with a start date of October 1, 2000, unless Congress increases the cap.

The INS Commissioner has also extended the duration of stay for certain F-1 and J-1 visa holders if a timely request for change of status to an H-1B has been filed prior to October 1, 2000.

H-1B Cap Reached (03-17-2000) [Top]
The INS General Counsel has advised that the H-1B cap for the fiscal year 2000 has been reached and that an official notice is expected to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, March 21.  Information regarding the handling of pipeline cases will be addressed in the notice.

Employment-Based India and China Numbers Retrogress in April (03-14-2000) [Top]
As projected, the employment-based immigrant visa numbers for India and China will retrogress in the month of April.  Second Preference, China will retrogress to July 1, 1997 and India will retrogress to January 1, 1999.  Both China and India Third Preference visa numbers will retrogress to January 1, 1997.

Employment-Based India and China Numbers to Retrogress (03-09-2000) [Top]
According to Charles Oppenheim of the State Department, employment-based second and third preference immigrant visa numbers for India and China WILL retrogress in April.  The State Department has not yet announced how far back the numbers will retrogress.  More information is expected to be released by the week of March 13.

H-1B Cap Status (03-09-2000) [Top]
INS is continuing to adjudicate H-1B petitions for this fiscal year.  As of February 15, 2000, INS had recorded approximately 67,000 H-1B approvals against the 115,000 cap.  Approximately 44,000 H-1B petitions are pending.  Until INS adjudicates the pending petitions, INS is unable to indicate the number of pending petitions that will be approved and be subject to the cap.  Once INS determines that the cap of 115,000 has been reached, it will publish a notice in the Federal Register.

H-1B Bill Introduced in Senate (02-21-2000) [Top]
Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT) and Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI) along with 17 other Senators have introduced S. 2045, the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act.  This bill would increase the H-1B cap from 115,000 to 195,000 for the current and the following two fiscal years.  Exempt from the cap would be both employees of higher educational institutions and research institutions as well as foreign students graduating from U.S. schools with Masters or Ph.D. degrees.  This bill would permit excess employment-based immigrant visa numbers to be used by nationals from oversubscribed countries.  In addition, the bill would extend nonimmigrant status to those individuals affected by the backlog in visa numbers who would be reaching their six-year maximum stay.  This bill would also allow an H-1B nonimmigrant who is changing employer to begin employment with his new sponsoring employer upon filing the H-1B petition.

H-1B Cap is Approaching (02-21-2000) [Top]
According to Linda Dodd-Major, INS is very close to reaching the H-1B cap for this fiscal year.  Contrary to its announcement earlier this month, INS now states that it will only publish its notice in the Federal Register when it believes that the 115,000 limit has been reached.  Thus, INS will NOT issue a 30-day notice.

H-1B Numbers Still Available (02-12-2000) [Top]
As of January 31, 2000, INS had NOT received enough H-1B petitions, which include both approved and pending cases, to reach the H-1B cap for this fiscal year ending September 30, 2000.  When INS determines that the H-1B cap will be reached in 30 days, it will issue a notice in the Federal Register.  It is likely, however, that when INS issues the notice, the cap will be reached before the 30 days.  Note that INS is referring to cases that are filed, not approved.

Employment-Based Visa Numbers to Remain Current (02-12-2000) [Top]
According to Charles Oppenheim of the State Department, employment-based immigrant visa numbers will NOT retrogress in March, as previously projected.  However, it is believed that in April, employment-based visa numbers for both India and China will retrogress to July 1999 levels.

Due to an increase in demand on family-based visas, Mr. Oppenheim anticipates that family-based second preference cases will slow, stop or even retrogress in the coming months.

Employment-Based Adjustment Application Approvals (02-06-2000) [Top]
The California Service Center has started to approve Employment-Based Adjustment Applications - it appears that these approvals are for cases where the FBI clearances were going to expire in the very near future, i.e. within the month of February 2000.

Fingerprint Notices for "Old Chinese Cases" (02-06-2000) [Top]
California Service Center has started to send out fingerprint notices for the "Old Chinese Cases" that had been filed in the fall of 1997 and that have remained pending due to the retrogression of visa numbers at the end of 1997 and the expiration of the FBI clearances.

Labor Certification Processing Times in S.F. (02-06-2000) [Top]
Processing times for Permanent Residence Labor Certifications pending with the Department of Labor in San Francisco are as follows:

RIR Cases - 11-17-1999
Non-RIR Cases - 09-16-1996

New Addresses for Visa Revalidation and Reissuance (02-02-2000) [Top]
The Department of State Visa Office has changed the postal service and courier service addresses for the filing of new visa revalidation and visa reissuance applications.

Postal Service
US Department of State/Visa
P.O. Box 952099
St. Louis, MO 63195-2099
Fax: (202) 663-1608

Courier Service
US Department of State/Visa (Box 2099)
1005 Convention Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63101-1200
Fax: (202) 663-1608

Incomplete cases or prior refusals being returned to the Visa Office with the additional documentation necessary to continue processing should be sent to the address below.  Please note that these cases will be treated by the Visa Office as new applications and, thus, will start at the beginning of the reissuance process.

Department of State
CA/VO/PD
2401 E Street, N.W.
Room L-701
Washington, D.C. 20522-1016

H-1B Processing Backlogs (01-21-2000) [Top]
As of January 19, 2000, the Nebraska Service Center was apparently adjudicating H-1B visa petitions received on November 3, 1999.

Visa Number Availability for Employment-Based Cases in February 2000 (01-14-2000) [Top]
Employment-based visa numbers for 1st, 2nd and 3rd preference world-wide remain current in February 2000.

H-1B Visa Numbers Still Available (01-14-2000) [Top]
Although the Immigration and Naturalization Service has not advised as to the number of H-1B visa petitions approved during this fiscal year (since October 1, 1999), the INS is indicating that the H-1B visa numbers have not yet been exhausted and that numbers may remain available until March 2000.  However, it is unclear whether this March date refers to cases filed in March; it likely means adjudications in March 2000.

LCA Faxback in Philadelphia Working Again (01-14-2000) [Top]
The LCA faxback system in Philadelphia has been non-operational since January 7, 2000.  Apparently, LCAs faxed since January 3, 2000 are in the system, but have not been processed.  The faxback system is now operational and the process of clearing out approximately 2,500 LCAs has resumed.  DOL expects to be current by the week of January 21, 2000.

Processing of H-1B Petitions at the Nebraska Service Center (01-14-2000) [Top]
H-1B petitions (cap cases) receipted November 2, 1999, are being adjudicated at NSC as of January 13, 2000.  Non-cap H-1B petition cases are being processed with receipt dates of November 1 or earlier.

Updates from the California Service Center Liaison Meeting (01-12-2000) [Top]
The following will outline some of the highlights of the CSC meeting held on January 12, 2000:

• Processing Times

  • CSC hopes to maintain the processing times of the pending petitions / applications.  Unfortunately, because of staff limitations, the processing times will remain unchanged.

• Adjustment Applications

  • The adjudication of adjustment applications will now be resumed, pending staff availability.  However, the Center Director indicated that she hopes to process 17,000 of the pending adjustment applications by September 30, 2000.

  • Fingerprint notices should start to be mailed again in February / March 2000 for adjustment cases filed in July 1999 and onwards.  Notices should also be generated for those cases where the fingerprints have either expired or have been rejected.

Prediction for Employment-Based Visa Number Availability (01-06-2000) [Top]
The U.S. State Department has indicated that employment-based immigrant visa numbers for India and China born are expected to remain current in February 2000.  However, in March 2000, India 2nd and 3rd preference visa numbers may retrogress to July 1999, whereas China will likely remain current.

CIA Check Eliminated (11-30-99)  [Top]
The adjudication of adjustment of status applications filed after August 31, 1998 will no longer need to await a CIA security clearance check.  The CIA checks will now be done on a post-audit basis.