Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court, left shorthanded with only eight Justices following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February, issued a one-sentence decision stating that the Court was split 4-4 in the case of United States v. Texas, challenging the injunction that has prevented the implementation of the expanded DACA and DAPA programs announced by President Obama in November 2014.

This decision leaves the injunction in place, effectively ending any hope that these programs will be implemented at least until after the November elections and, more likely, until after a new president and Congress are sworn into office in January 2017.

The original DACA program launched in 2012 remains in effect.  To be eligible for the 2012 DACA program, a person must:

1. Have been under age 31 as of June 15, 2012;
2. Have come to the United States before reaching their 16th birthday;
3. Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007;
4. Have been physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of applying for DACA;
5. Have had no lawful status on June 15, 2012;
6. Be currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or be an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and
7. Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor,or three or more other misdemeanors, and not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

If you or someone you know might be eligible for protection under DACA, please contact us.

The State Department has released the July 2016 Visa Bulletin listing the priority dates eligible for “Application Final Action,” i.e. when an I-485 adjustment of status (AOS) application may be approved or an immigrant visa (IV) issued, and the priority dates eligible for “Filing Applications,” i.e. when an AOS or IV application may be filed.

Following the massive retrogression of the priority dates in June, there is some slight movement in the “Application Final Action Dates” for both the family and employment-based preference categories. Some of the priority dates in the family-based categories will advance from one to eight weeks, although there is no movement in the third preference (F3) for most countries and no movement in the fourth preference (F4) for China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines. In addition, there is no movement in the family-based categories for Mexico with the exception of a two week advance in the first preference (F1).

In the employment-based preference categories, there is no advance in the Final Action Dates for China. The EB-2 priority date for India will advance one month to November 1, 2004, and the EB-3 priority date will advance one month to October 22, 2004. The EB-3 priority date for all other countries will advance slightly, although the Philippines will see a jump ahead of over three months.

The news remains grim for the “Dates for Filing” as there is no movement at all in July in any category or for any country. As a reminder, the “Dates for Filing Applications” are valid only for consular processing immigrant visa applications. USCIS will make a separate determination whether to allow the filing of AOS applications under the “Dates for Filing” chart or the “Application Final Action Dates” chart in the visa bulletin and will post the applicable chart on its website. For July 2016, USCIS has determined that applicants must use the “Application Final Action Dates.”

Looking ahead, in a meeting with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and reporting Division at the Department of State, indicated that more priority date retrogressions are expected before September 2016, including the rare establishment of a cutoff date in the EB-2 “worldwide” category and a cutoff date in the EB-1 category for India and China.
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You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.