CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status / I-140 (EB-3 Category) / Schedule A
BENEFICIARY: Filipina Registered Nurse
LOCATION: Houston, TX
Our client’s beneficiary is a registered nurse from the Philippines licensed in the state of Texas. Prior to retaining us, she was working at a nursing / rehabilitation center in the greater Houston area under an H-1B status. Her current employer was willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Our client also has an approved EB-3 I-140 petition with a priority date of November 2009.
Since she is a registered nurse, she is eligible for “Schedule A” classification. The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without first going to the DOL for a labor certification. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. The position of Professional Nurses is included in Schedule A.
Also, under 8 CFR 204.5(e):
“Retention of section 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) priority date. A petition approved on behalf of an alien under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act accords the alien the priority date of the approved petition for any subsequently filed petition for any classification under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act for which the alien may qualify. In the event that the alien is the beneficiary of multiple petitions under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act, the alien shall be entitled to the earliest priority date. A petition revoked under sections 204(e) or 205 of the Act will not confer a priority date, nor will any priority date be established as a result of a denied petition. A priority date is not transferable to another alien.”
As mentioned above, our client’s approved I-140 petition was not denied, was actually approved, and was never revoked at any point. Thus, by virtue of 8 CFR 204.5(e), this succeeding I-140 Petition by our client’s prospective employer for our client is entitled to the previous priority date.
Our client has a nursing degree and has several years of related experience. Our firm told her that her current employer can petition her as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. More importantly, since the priority date of her previous I-140 was current, she can eventually apply for her immigrant visa via consular processing. Our office was retained on October 29, 2014 and we started on her Prevailing Wage Request.
We filed the I-140 application on January 7, 2015 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, his previous I-140 approval notice, and other necessary supporting documents. Eventually, on January 15, 2015, the I-140 was approved and it retained our client’s old priority date.
Once the I-140 petition was approved, our client retained our office again for her and her family members’ I-485 adjustment of status applications. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and her family members on February 11, 2015. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. However, while the applications were pending, the EB-3 priority dates for the Philippines nationals were retrogressed so that our client cases could not be adjudicated.
Her priority dates became current again in 2016. However, on August 25, 2016, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence for our clients for their new medical records. Our client and her family members submitted their new medical records to the USCIS on October 4, 2016. Eventually, on October 27, 2016, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved our client and her family members’ adjustment of status applications. Now, she finally is a green card holder.