Are Visa screen still required for AOS application?

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Hi all, I have a friend who had just submitted their AOS (she and her husband and the children), however, she's been so worried as to whether visa screen are still required to file AOS. I know during my own time, they were needed but she said her attorney said they are no longer required while filing concurrently with I-140, I-485 and the EAD. And was told to send it in as soon as it is received. Are they safe? She keeps shaking like a leaf each day because of this as they do not want to be rejected. Yet, they had to turn their application in before July ending to avoid the fees and also when the numbers were current.Any thoughts? Thanks

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The visa numbers are not current and have not been for sometime. Immigration was forced to accept petitions, but since they were forced to do it, they stated right away that any petition that was not complete would be returned. And this means that if the VSC was not included, then they cannot process the I-485. They used to do that in the past, but even when they were going to accept the petitions on July 2nd, they had stated that all petitions must be complete 100% oe they would be returned.

What happened last year and what is going on now are completely two different things. And because of all that went thru the AOS process in the past, and did not even pass the English exams and got their EADs cancelled, immigration has become much stricter on this requirement.

More than likely, she will get the petition returned since the requirement was not meant. Expect USCIS to be extremely picky at this time. USCIS has stated in their last memo if the petition was not 100% complete, it was being returned. They were not going to request for additional information to be submitted that was required in the first place.

Did your friend actually pass the English exams and apply already for the VSC?

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Thanks Ms Suzanne. Yes, she schooled here in the US. she just graduated in May, 2007. But do they have to re-apply when the application is returned (in october or whenever the bullent is current) or what? I hope they don't have to return to their country to reapply

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Think about this, and what I have mentioned already in several places:

If the USCIS would not accept petitions that were hand-delivered to them on July 2nd, how in the world can they accept those that were sent by the mail, or courier? They cannot. Just is not going to happen.

But then the bigger issue that I have for your friend is if she graduated in May, how did she take the NCLEX exam and pass it, as well as have the actual required letter from her BON that she passed the exam? That takes about three weeks to get after you test. And then with the time required to get the proper documentation that even needs to be submitted with the I-140. There are specific requirements as far as the job being posted, etc. And the employer cannot even legally offer her a job until she has passed the NCLEX exam. Two and two are not adding up here. Something is missing, as well as the VSC. And then not having the VSC. USCIS stated that there were only accepting completed petitions, any others would be returned. Expect that you will see a wave of them returned in the next week or two.

And again, attoreys get paid when the petition is submitted, they do not care if it is approved or not in many cases. Same way that we still see unscrupulous attorneys offer to file the H1-B petition for nurses. They have not been approved in more than three years, but they still do it even though they are not available.

I am stating what I know and what I have read. Please let me know if your friend's petition gets returned for the I-485. Highly suspect that it will.

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And graduating here does not exempt her from the requirement of the VSC. The only thing that it does is waive the English exams, nothing more.

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Let's see how it goes.These things can be very complicated at times.

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I will update on whether it was returned or not. She passed her Nclex in May ending and said she got her licence within ten days.

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But did she have all of the required documents that are needed to have the I-140 submitted and not returned? There is an actual verification from the BON that needs to be submitted, as well as verification that the job was posted for ten days and then a 30 day wait. If any of that was not done, then there will be issues. And we have been seeing more of that.

Please keep us posted. From everything that USCIS stated, they would be returning any I-485 that was not 100% complete, and that means that the VSC had to be included. This was what was stated in their memos that have come out in the past few weeks. Only completed petitions will be accepted. In the past, they just sent out letters requesting or requiring the additional documentation within a certain amount of time, but now they are stating that they will not accept any petition that is not complete. And petitions do not get returned immediately, it takes time for them to go thru it in the first place. And with the number that they received, expect up to 8 weeks or so to get it returned. Not overnight.

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