USCIS EXTENDS GREEN CARD VALIDITY TO 36 MONTHS FOR RENEWALS

On September 18, 2024, USCIS issued a news alert that Lawful Permanent Residents (aka Green Card holders) who properly file Form-I-90 to replace an expired or soon-to-expire Green Card will receive an automatic 36-month extension, as opposed to the previous 24-month extension.

Receipt notices received on or after September 10, 2024 for Form I-90 should now include updated language granting Green Card holders the automatic 36-month extension. On September 10, 2024, USCIS began printing amended receipt notices for individuals with pending I-90s.

To evidence their lawful status, Green Card holders may present the updated I-90 receipt notice with their expired green card. This will allow Green Card holders to continue working and traveling, despite experiencing long processing delays to replace their expired Green Card.

Lawful Permanent Residents who no longer have their Green Card are not eligible for the automatic 36-month extension, but they may request an appointment at a USCIS Field Office by contacting the USCIS Contact Center in order to obtain an Alien Documentation, Identification, and Telecommunications (ADIT) stamp to prove their status while waiting to receive their replacement Green Card.

October 2024 Visa Bulletin: Movement Forward for EB-3

The Department of State has just issued the October 2024 Visa Bulletin, the first of the new Fiscal Year. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates - Consular applicants with these priority dates or earlier may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment:

Table B: Dates of Filing - Adjustment of Status applicants with these priority dates or earlier may file their Form I-485:

MU Law Analysis

EB-1 and EB-2: The Visa Bulletin for categories EB-1 and EB-2 made nearly no movement from September 2024. Only China EB-1 and EB-2 made forward progress of less than a month.

EB-3: The EB-3 categories for Rest of World, Mexico, and Philippines moved forward roughly 2 years from the September 2024 visa bulletin, closely mirroring the June 2024 visa bulletin which was issued before the DOS began rolling back visa numbers for the rest of the fiscal year.

EB-3 India moved forward less than one month, while EB-3 China retrogressed 5 months from the September 2024 Visa Bulletin.

EB-1, EB-3, EB-4, and EB-5 Green Cards Unavailable through September 2024

Last week, the Department of State announced that all available Green Cards had been issued for EB-1 and EB-4 categories.

The Department of State announced earlier last month that the limits had been reached for EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers and EB-5 unreserved categories.

For any category that is announced as “Unavailable”, Green Cards will not be issued to consular applicants completing an Immigrant Visa interview under that category, and Adjustment of Status applications filed under that category will not be approved until the new fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2024.

The following categories are now unavailable until October 1, 2024:

• EB-1
• EB-3
• EB-3 other workers
• EB-4
• EB-5 unreserved

As discussed in MU's blog on the September 2024 visa bulletin, visa unavailability is temporary through September 2024, and new immigrant visa numbers will become available in all categories beginning October 1, 2024.