7/21/2010

USCIS has "preadjudicated" a large number of pending I-485 cases whose priority dates are close to the pace of the immigrant visa number availability in the Visa Bulletin and has been awaiting the visa number availability for the final decision. 

Generally, change of address to outside of the metropolitan area or different state is considered a red flag in the final adjudication process, as the employment-based nonimmigrant status or intended place of employment is the "key" to the labor certification based immigration proceeding and labor certification remains valid only if the offered job in the place of employment continue to exist. 

From the perspective of the USCIS, one may move out of the intended place of employment either because of change of employment or loss of employment or other factors that contradicts to the intended place of employment for which a labor certification has been granted and the applicant is supposedly to work at the location once a green card is approved. 

Since the USCIS will not know why the address of residence has changed out of the intended place of employment metropolitan area or state, the last minute check can lead to issuance of RFE (Request For Evidence) or in the worst cases, tranfering the file to a local district or field office for interview. Even if such move is justified in most of cases under AC 21, such RFE or transfer to local offices can cause delays in adjudication of the I-485 application. 

In some situation, while they deal with the RFE or local office interview scheduling, they can face the visa number retrogression. For this reason, those whose visa numbers are scheduled to become current in July and August 2010 may not want to move their place of residence out of the current metropolitan areas or the current states. Once they moved, they are required to report change of address in 10 days, knowingly failure of which can be considered a ground for deportation and denial of I-485 application. 

Accordingly, those who have already moved should file AR-11 within 10 days of move regardless of its impact on the final I-485 adjudication process. This reporter wants to remind the readers that place and "location" of employment is a key to the employment-based nonimmigrants and immigrants from the perspectives of U.S. immigration laws because the law is intended to protect U.S. labor market from unqualified or illegal immigrants and "wage" in each location constitutes a primary factor to determine the labor market and permit of a foreign worker to work in the market area at the prevailing wage or higher wage in the specific market area.