OPINION-US VISA | IMMIGRATION CORNER: The difference between ‘dates for filing’ and ‘final action dates’ on the Visa Bulletin
The Department of State (DOS)’s monthly Visa Bulletin informs applicants of their “place in line” for an immigrant visa based on the person’s priority date. For family-based petitions, the priority date is established upon the date the petition is filed with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For most employment-based cases, the priority date is established when the case is filed with the Department of Labor.
The monthly Visa Bulletin has two different charts for priority dates, which leads to a lot of confusion and misunderstanding:
@[email protected]
..
Dates For Filing chart (Chart B)
Immigrant visa applicants who have a priority date earlier than (or before) the dates listed in Chart B may already begin assembling and submitting required documents and fees to the National Visa Center (NVC) following receipt of notification from the NVC containing detailed instructions. This gives the petitioner and applicant(s) enough time to prepare the case and get it “documentarily qualified” in preparation for when their priority date will eventually become current on the “Final Action Dates” chart (Chart A). Just because your priority date appears on the Dates for Filing chart does not mean you are eligible to be queued up for an interview or issued a visa.
A comparison might be with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), where taxes are typically due April 15 of each year. As a courtesy, the IRS might send out the Form 1040 tax return in December of the previous year. It does not mean the taxes are due in December. Instead, you’re given several months to gather your documentation, receipts, etc. to enable you to prepare your forms by the filing due date. The Visa Bulletin’s Dates for Filing chart gives you time to gather documents and prepare your paperwork to enable you to be queued up for an interview once your priority date is current in the Final Action Dates chart.
@[email protected]
If a person is in the US and eligible to file for adjustment of status, USCIS may allow them to file for adjustment of status and obtain work authorization if their priority date is earlier than the date listed in the Dates for Filing chart. Also, if a child is in the US and is applying for adjustment of status, the USCIS may also allow computation of the child’s age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) based on the priority dates listed in the Dates for Filing chart. The USCIS advises each month if it will rely on the Dates for Filing chart for that month.
Final Action Dates chart (Chart A)
I personally refer to this chart as the “Visa Issuance Date” chart because a person will not be eligible to be scheduled for an immigrant visa interview, issued a visa or adjust status (be issued a green card) until his or her priority date is earlier than the dates listed in Chart A. This is true even if their priority date is current in the Dates for Filing Chart.
For a child who is aging out and applying for a visa at the embassy, they must compute their age under the CSPA based on visa availability in the Final Action Dates chart. This is unlike a child adjusting status in the US, where the USCIS will sometimes let them compute their age based on the more generous Dates for Filing chart.
Many people whose priority date is “current” in the Dates for Filing chart complain or wonder why they have not been scheduled for a visa interview or their adjustment has not been approved. As stated, you will not be scheduled for an interview at the embassy, nor will your adjustment of status application be approved, unless and until your priority date is current in the Final Action Dates chart.
@[email protected]
Also, and this is critical: if your priority date is current in the Final Action Dates chart and the NVC has notified you of visa availability, there is a one-year deadline for you to apply for your visa or notify NVC of your interest in pursuing your visa. If you failed to do so, your case could be terminated and your priority date lost. You would have to file a new petition and start at the back of the line.
@[email protected]
* * *
WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw, YouTube: US Immigration TV and Instagram.com/gurfinkellaw Four offices to serve you: Los Angeles; San Fran cisco; New York: Toll free number: 1-866-GURFINKEL (1 866-487-3465); Philippines: +632 88940258 or +632 88940239
ADS by:
