Your EB I-485 application has been filed and your priority date is no longer current - Now What?

This post will discuss various practical issues that arise for an EB I-485 applicant whose priority date is no longer current.

I am writing this post on December 26, 2022. Since Christmas Eve (December 24), we have gotten 150 new subscribers, and we are up to over 2,750!

Thank you for reading.

There are thousands of people who have filed their I-485 application (final stage green card application), based on an I-140. But now their priority date is no longer current. Some immigration professionals refer to this phenomena as “retrogression” - when the cut-off date on the visa bulletin falls backwards. [Some immigrants may have slightly more colorful terminology to describe this situation!]

Regardless of what you call it, this may be seen as an extremely frustrating development; and on some level it is, but there are important benefits to being an I-485 applicant. It is without question better to be an I-485 applicant than to not be an I-485 applicant.

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This post (beyond the paywall) will discuss the following practical issues:

1. I-140 Processing;

2. EAD work permit and AP travel permit processing (including extensions);

3. Travel Abroad and Moving Abroad (?)

4. Job Changes (including Employer Changes);

5. Visa Bulletin Chart A versus Chart B (Chart A is all that matters now);

6. Upgrading (or downgrading);

7. Consideration of an “after acquired spouse.”