Mid-Summer Updates

August Visa Bulletin Released July 8.   Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) remains unavailable.  The government expects no change in EB-3 availability until October 1, 2008, the start of the new fiscal year.  Employment-Based Second Preference is current except for India and China which both advanced to June 1, 2006. 

New Form I-9 Released.  The United States Citizenship & Immigration Services released a new edition of Form I-9, dated June 16, 2008.  USCIS has indicated that the previous edition of Form I-9, dated June 5, 2007, will also be accepted until further notice.

Two-Year EADs available this summer.  U.S. Department of Homeland Security has begun issuing Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) with a two-year validity period for applicants pending adjustment of status if the application is expected to be pending for more than a year and the underlying immigrant visa petition has been approved.  If the underlying I-140 visa petition on which the adjustment of status application is based remains pending, however, the USCIS has indicated it will issue an EAD valid for one year.