U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is encouraging eligible applicants to consider requesting to transfer the underlying basis of their adjustment of status applications to the first (priority workers) or second (noncitizens in professions with advanced degrees or with exceptional ability) employment-based preference categories. USCIS said this is because of the availability of an exceptionally high number of employment-based immigrant visas in these green card categories during fiscal year (FY) 2022.
USCIS explained that the overall employment-based annual limit for fiscal year 2022 is approximately twice as high as usual because it includes all unused family-sponsored visa numbers from FY 2021, which was approximately 140,000.
In addition, USCIS noted, under the relevant statute, any visas not required in the fifth employment-based preference category are made available in the first employment-based preference category, and any visas not required in the first employment-based preference category are made available in the second employment-based preference category.
These visas cannot be made available to applicants in the third employment-based preference category because, given the significant number of noncitizens awaiting visas in the second employment-based preference category, these visas must be used for the second preference category., USCIS said.
Details:
- USCIS alert, Feb. 18, 2022, https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-urges-eligible-applicants-to-switch-employment-based-categories
- Green Card for Employment-Based Immigrants (scroll down to "Transfer of Underlying Basis"), https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-for-employment-based-immigrants
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