As thousands of applicants are rushing to file their I-485 applications before the deadline set by USCIS, we would like to remind you several critical filing dates and issues. On July 23, USCIS issued an FAQ on filing issues. We incorporate some important questions from the FAQ in this article. A few other filling suggestions are provided too in order to help readers to correctly file their cases at a critical time.

1. On July 30, USCIS’s new filing fees will take effect. USCIS will reject any applications with incorrect filing fees. However, the current filing fee schedule will remain in effect to all I-485s filed no later than August 17, 2007. If EAD and Advance Parole are filed together with your I-485 application before August 18, you pay the old filing fee, $180 for EAD and $170 for Advance Parole. If they are filed separately after July 30, you need to pay the new fees. The new fee applies to Forms I-140, whether or not concurrently filed with an employment-based adjustment application, that are filed on or after July 30, 2007. That fee is $475. According to a memo USCIS sent to AILA, the correct filing fee is determined by the time when you send out your application, which is indicated by the post mark or other receipt proof if you use other carriers, such as FedEx, UPS or DHL. In other words, if you send out your I-140 application before July 30, you should use the old filing fee.

2. USCIS “Direct filing” procedure will take effect on July 30, 2007, which requires I-140/I-485 applications to be filed to either NSC or TSC based on where the applicant resides. From July 30, you need to follow this procedure. You may check which service center you should file your case at http://www.hooyou.com/news/news071107file.html
In other words, if your application will be received by USCIS on July 30 or after, you need to follow this new “Direct filing” procedure.

3. Visa bulletin for July 2007 indicates that visa numbers are available for all applicants in all employment-based immigration categories except “other workers.” USCIS has extended the deadline to file I-485s to August 17. In other words, one needs to make sure his/her application to be received by USCIS no later than August 17.

4. I-140 applications must be filed before August 1 if one wants to file I-485 this time to take advantage of the July visa bulletin. You must have a priority date before August 1 to use the July visa bulletin. Although different attorneys have different opinions regarding this issue, before we receive any further notice from USCIS, we suggest you take a cautious stance and make sure your I-140 application will be received by USCIS before August 1.

5. Now, your I-140 application is your priority, if you haven’t filed it before. If you cannot file it before August 1, you cannot file your I-485 applications in August, 2007.

6. Regarding the deadlines, you need to make sure USCIS receives your applications by the deadlines. In other words, your I-140 application must be received by USCIS by July 31; your I-485 applications must be received by USCIS by August 17. I-485s received by USCIS on or after August 18 will be rejected.

7. Please note that overnight delivery is not guaranteed by any carrier, including USPS, FedEx, UPS and DHL. Delivery delays happen to all carriers. If it happens, the carriers do not take any legal responsibility to compensate the loss resulted from a delayed application. USCIS won’t accept an application after the deadline for any reason. Therefore, we suggest you don’t wait until the last minute.

8. If you do need to file your case at the last minute, check the closing time of your local express delivery store before hand. Some stores close at 5pm, some close at 6pm. USPS has service stations at airports which close even later. For example, on Saturday, June 30, 2007, FedEx stopped accepting overnight deliveries after 5:00pm, so we used the USPS overnight service in order to make sure some additional cases could be received by USCIS on July 2. Two of our colleagues drove thirty miles and delivered fourteen I-485 cases to the USPS station. All these cases were received by USCIS on July 2. Extracting the weekend, they were still delivered overnight.

9. If you haven’t made the appointment for medical examination, hurry up. Some have reported difficulty to get an appointment at this point of time. In addition, if you cannot get an appointment in your town, a physician outside of your state is also OK. You can find the list of qualified physicians in our website:
http://www.hooyou.com/i-485/doctorlist/doctorlist.htm
However, USCIS will accept adjustment of applications filed pursuant to the July Visa Bulletin without a completed medical examination. In such cases, USCIS will issue a request for evidence later.

10. We suggest you file EAD and Advance Parole together with your I-485 application. As USCIS may receive hundreds of I-485 applications before August 18, there might be a delay for USCIS to issue receipt notices. You may need to wait a long time to get the receipt notice which is required when you file EAD and Advance Parole later. In addition, if you file EAD and Advance Parole with your I-485 this time, you pay the old filing fees.

11. Some applicants cannot find an experienced attorney in such a short period of time and they want to DIY. That’s a viable option. Petition letter is a vital part of NIW and EB-1 cases. We provide the services to write the petition letter if you have all other materials ready. We usually deliver the work within two days. You may contact Attorney Zhang’s assistant Li at @hooyou.com">llemburg@hooyou.com if you need this service.

12. We are committed to providing high quality work and professional services to our existing clients, especially with the pressuring deadlines. Everyday, we still receive hundreds of inquiry emails and phone calls. As we need to put the high priority on our existing clients, I am sorry we haven’t been able to respond to the inquiry emails and phone calls from non clients. However, we are still taking cases for those who can have their materials ready before July 27.

13. At a moment of dynamics, we have been closely monitoring any policy change from USCIS. For example, in the middle of this month, we found some clues for a visa bulletin change before July 16. In addition, we have some credible information sources which showed us some signs of change before hand. Therefore, on July 16, 2007, we announced to the public that USCIS might accept I-485 applications filed in July, while other attorneys and AILA were trying to dispel rumors. We will keep monitoring any news and instructions from USCIS, and report to the readers at the first time.

The following link is the USCIS FAQ released on July 23:

http://www.hooyou.com/news/news072407faq.pdf

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The fifty-five professionals at Zhang & Associates, P.C. are committed to providing high quality work and professional services to our clients.

We provide free evaluations and take new cases. Please send your vita and questions to Attorney Jerry Zhang via @hooyou.com">info@hooyou.com for a free evaluation.

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Email: @hooyou.com">info@hooyou.com
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