Department of State Restores Immigrant Visa Availability

In a stunning reversal of policy, the Department of State (DOS) retracted its earlier announcement regarding visa availability. On July 17, 2007, DOS announced that all employment-based immigrant visa categories (other than the “other worker” category) are available for the month of July. Moreover, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a grace filing period until August 17th. USCIS will accept I-485 Adjustment of Status applications until August 17, and those applications will be accepted with the current (lower) filing fees through that date. (For more information regarding the USCIS filing fee increase, please see our ImmSTAR Alert dated June 14, 2007.)

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