USCIS Guidance on Employment Based Adjustment Applications

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued guidance on several issues concerning the processing of employment based adjustment of status applications for dependents, the use of Supplement J, and the transfer of files from Field offices.

Dependent Adjustment of Status Filing

USCIS makes every effort to concurrently adjudicate the cases of the principal and derivative’s application for adjustment of status. If a Form I-485 of a derivative applicant is deemed approvable but a visa number is not yet available, the application will remain pending until a visa number is available.

USCIS confirmed that when the relevant visa availability cutoff date has retrogressed and a visa number is not immediately available to the derivative applicant’s pending employment based adjustment of status application, the derivative applicant will typically be “in a period of authorized stay”.

Furthermore, USCIS will consider the suggestion for expedited processing for F2A immigrant visa petitions filed on behalf of derivative family members where the primary applicant adjusted status and the family members’ applications have been impacted by retrogression.

Pending Form I-485, Supplement J Transfer of Underlying Basis Filings

Those wishing to withdraw their request to transfer the underlying basis of their FY2022-filed Form I-485 must do so in writing.

Adjustment of Status Application Transferred to a Local USCIS Field Office

If the I-485 application is approvable but the priority date is no longer valid due to retrogression, the application for an adjustment of status will generally be transferred by the local USCIS Field Office to the National Benefit Center (NBC). The NBC reviews the cases monthly for visa availability and will typically finish the adjudication once a visa becomes available.