OPINION: Visa Bulletin Debacle

Those of us practicing immigration law in the summer of 2007 experienced something that we thought would never happen again. The US State Department (DOS) released a Visa Bulletin that reported every employment-based preference category as “current.” This meant that everyone with an approved labor certification, no matter the prior backlog of priority dates, could file their adjustment of status (i.e. “Green Card”) applications with US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). Clients and attorneys cheered for joy and started preparing the paperwork. Clients who were abroad when the announcement was made flew back to the US (since an applicant has to be physically present in the US when applying for the adjustment). Clients got medical exams, paid for translations, paid attorneys, and everyone worked overtime to put together these numerous and extensive applications. And then…the State Department took the Visa Bulletin back! 

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