July 2007 Changes in Immigration Filing

Several changes in the filing of immigration applications will take effect this July. Applicants should take note of these changes to preserve their eligibility for immigration benefits and also to avoid processing delays.

Labor Certification as of July 16, 2007

Labor Certification will be valid only for 180 days unlike before when they were valid indefinitely.

The validity period is counted from the time of the approval or certification by the Department of Labor. Those certified prior to July 16, 2007 will be valid through January 12, 2008.

Labor Certifications are needed to file the immigrant visa petitions (I-140) in most employment-based second and third preference categories. They have to be filed with the I-140 petition before their expiration.

Substitution of beneficiaries will no longer be allowed although those substitute petitions filed prior to July 16, 2007 will be adjudicated. Substitution of an alien named on a pending or approved labor certification with another prospective alien employee has been allowed and this benefited the subsequent employee by preserving the previously established priority date.

Another provision in the new Department of Labor regulation is the prohibition of the sale, barter or purchase of permanent labor certifications and applications. The rule requires the employers to pay the cost of preparing, filing and obtaining labor certifications.

Filing Fee as of July 30, 2007

There will be a huge increase in filing fees. Applications have to be postmarked on July 29, 2007 to be charged the lower filing fees.

Examples of the increase are: I-130 for family petitions from $180 to $355; I-140 immigrant workers petition from $195 to $475.

I-485 adjustment of status with employment authorization and advance parole from $675 to $1,010 and N-400 naturalization from $330 to $675.

Direct Filing as of July 30, 2007

To coincide with the fee increase, petitions and applications will be filed with the service center that will process them, based on the place of temporary employment or place of residence.

I-140 as well as I-485 with I-131 and I-765 will be filed with the Nebraska Service Center or the Texas Service Center unlike now where all filing are with the Nebraska Service Center.

I-129F will be filed with either the Vermont Service Center or the California Service Center depending on where the petitioner resides and regardless of whether its for a K-1 fiancee or a K-3 spouse. At the present, K-1 is filed with all the four service centers and K-3 with the Chicago lock box.