What does visa retrogression mean?

What does visa retrogression mean?

Visa retrogression refers to situations when there are more visa applicants for a certain category or countries than there are available visas for that month.

What causes visa retrogression?

Retrogression, or When the Priority Dates Move Backward But sometimes, so many people apply after a certain Priority Date is published that the State Department gets overwhelmed, and needs to put on the brakes. It does this by moving the Priority Date in that particular visa category backward.

What is priority date retrogression?

Visa priority retrogression The priority date is either the date when your family member filed the immigrant visa petition on your behalf with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or your employer filed the application for labor certification (“PERM”) with the U.S. Department of Labor.

What happens if priority date retrogression after filing I-485?

Unfortunately, if you previously filed your I-485 adjustment of status application but your priority date has retrogressed and is no longer current, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will not adjudicate your case until your priority date becomes current again.

Can you lose your priority date?

Are there situations where my priority date may still be revoked? The priority date of a petition may not be retained if USCIS revokes the approval of your petition due to fraud, willful misrepresentation, revocation, or invalidation of the underlying labor certification, or material error by USCIS.

What happens if you miss your priority date?

Still, after your priority date becomes current in the “Application Final Action Dates” chart, you will have one year to pursue your visa or green card. If you miss this as well, the government will perceive you have quit, and the next person in the line will get your visa number to the next.

What is I-485 priority date?

A priority date is the date the PERM was filed, and you can see if that date is current on the USCIS visa bulletin. Only applicants with current priority dates are eligible to file form I-485. If the priority date is not current, the application will be rejected.

How can I check my visa priority date?

You can find your priority date on the I-797 form mailed by USCIS approving your I-130 petition. Current: In the context of the visa bulletin, “current” means no backlog and no wait time for a green card. A particular priority date becomes “current” once it reaches the front of the line and a green card is available.

What is current priority date for green card?

This is referred to as the priority date being “current.” The priority date is current if there is no backlog in the category. If you have a current priority date, your immigrant visa number is immediately available, and you may apply for permanent residence or adjustment of status.

What does priority date mean for green card?

Priority date: This is the date that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received your I-130 petition. Think of this date as your place in the green card line. You can find your priority date on the I-797 form mailed by USCIS approving your I-130 petition.

What is the difference between priority date and filing date?

The filing date is the date when a patent application is first filed at a patent office. The priority date, sometimes called the “effective filing date”, is the date used to establish the novelty and/or obviousness of a particular invention relative to other art.

When is the cutoff date for a Visa retrogression?

If Manuel had checked the Bulletin for February of 2018, the cutoff date he would have seen in his category (2A) was “01FEB16,” or February 1, 2016.

When do you get a DV visa for 2012?

DV visas may not be issued to DV-2012 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2012 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2012. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2012 cannot be taken for granted.

What happens if you don’t get a retrogression date?

If you don’t, you’ll be back to watching the Visa Bulletin each month to see when your next window of opportunity opens up. Even though the cutoff date for your category will retrogress next month, your adjustment application will remain pending.

What happens if my Visa priority date goes back?

Fortunately, this situation should not last long. If your date is current this month, but you see in the Visa Bulletin that it’s due to go backward to a priority date before yours next month, you might, if in the U.S., be able to move forward with your application nonetheless.