In an astounding turn of events, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced today that it has cut off immigrant visa availability due to "sudden backlog reduction" efforts by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in the past month. This is a last minute reversal of its original July 2007 Visa Bulletin, issued a mere three weeks ago, on June 13th. That Bulletin cleared the way for nearly every individual sponsored by an employer, and his immediate family members, to submit the final applications for a green card starting on July 1st. As a result of today's revised Visa Bulletin, employment-based immigrant visas ("green cards") are now unavailable for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2007, which ends September 30, 2007. As background, employment-based immigrant visas are numerically limited to 240,000 each fiscal year, allocated on the basis of the applicant's country of birth and category of sponsorship, and the availability affects when applicants may file, or have approved, the final step of the green card process, the Adjustment of Status application.

Shortly after the State Department announcement, USCIS issued a press release stating it would reject any Adjustment of Status applications (filed on Form I-485) for which an immigrant visa was unavailable under the July Visa Bulletin - that is, all employment-based cases. Any such Adjustment of Status application received on July 1st or later will be rejected by the USCIS.

Individuals sponsored by their employers for green cards, many of whom have been waiting for several years to file Adjustment of Status applications, responded to the initial July Visa Bulletin by obtaining required medical examinations - typically at a cost of $100 or more per family member - and other necessary documents, changing international travel plans, and taking other steps to ensure documentation and physical presence requirements for filing were met. Sealed medical examination results may remain valid for use with Adjustment of Status application filed within 12 months of the date the exam was completed.

The importance of filing of the Adjustment of Status applications to individuals, and often to employers, is enormous. It allows dependent family members to apply for employment authorization, and eventually may permit greater flexibility for changes to jobs or work locations, which may benefit both the individual and employer. The emotional cost borne by affected individuals and their employers greatly compounds the financial expenditures that have been made.

Availability for October 2007, the first month of Fiscal Year 2008, will be announced by the U.S. State Department in mid-September.