During our May and June webinars Charlie predicted many of the retrogressions which have occurred for August’s visa bulletin update. Below we will summarize the August Visa Bulletin for both Employment-Based and Family-Based schedules. Please register here to join us on August 23 @ 11am PT for our next live Chatting with Charlie. Employment-Based A Final Action Date has been imposed on the ROW EB-1 preference. The 01AUG23 date imposed for All Chargeability (Rest of World) EB-1 Final Action Date is essentially the same as the category being Current, and it would not be surprising if Department of State establishes a 01SEP23 date for September. The All Chargeability EB-2 Final Action Date advanced which is a positive sign, but the forward movement is not enough to provide any encouragement for the future availability of “Otherwise Unused” numbers becoming available for use by India EB-2 applicants. The fact that the All Chargeability EB-3 date has retrogressed for the third time in four months is a troubling sign for visa availability during FY 2024, and this situation will need to be watched carefully. Both the China EB-2 and EB-3 Final Action and Application Filing Dates have advanced which is a very good […]
What is an Affidavit of Support? An Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) is required for many intending immigrants. It is essentially a legally binding contract stating that the signer agrees to “sponsor,” or financially support, the intending immigrant once he or she becomes a lawful permanent resident. What are ‘40 qualifying quarters’? Often in family-based immigration, the sponsor is the petitioner who filed an immigrant petition on behalf of the intending immigrant. The sponsor’s responsibility usually lasts until the intending immigrant (family member or other individual) either becomes a U.S. citizen or is credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work, or Social Security “credits” (usually 10 years). An Affidavit of Support might not be needed if the intending immigrant already has 40 quarters of work. [1]The Social Security Administration (SSA) notes that the amount of earnings it takes to earn a credit may change each year. As of 2023, a person earns one Social Security credit for every $1,640 in covered earnings each year. A person must earn $6,560 to get the maximum four credits for the year. How can an intending immigrant accumulate 40 quarters? There are several ways: What happens after 40 quarters are accumulated? If an intending […]