House Democrats seek answers & solutions to “confounding” Visa Bulletin revision

WASHINGTON, D.C. – 16 House Democrats, led by Silicon Valley Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Mike Honda, are seeking answers to an administrative change that dramatically scaled back the number of immigrants eligible to apply for green cards.

The letter, addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Secretary of State John Kerry, notes that the revision "has undermined the stability and predictability of our immigration system."

The letter seeks specifics as to how many immigrants were affected by the changed filing dates. According to some estimates, the vast majority of immigrants who had been eligible to file for green cards were disqualified as a result of these changes. "If true," the authors write, "the revision would effectively reverse the progress made toward the Administration's goals to reform our visa system," a key aspect of President Obama's executive actions on immigration reform.

In addition, the Members of Congress urged "regulatory changes that would benefit high-skilled workers waiting in the United States for immigrant visa numbers," including permitting the affected workers to remain in the country while waiting for their changed filing dates "without sacrificing job flexibility."

"It is unconscionable for the Government – without explanation or recourse– to mislead these skilled immigrants and the companies that rely on them to succeed," said Lofgren.

"The visa bulletin revision has pulled the rug out from under thousands of immigrants in Silicon Valley and across the country. I join Rep. Lofgren in urging the Department of Homeland Security to offer discretionary relief so that that these people can continue to work, live and raise their families in America. Our country was founded on the promise of a better life; of being free to pursue their goals and dreams. We cannot continue to roll back the clock on our immigration policies – we need to be moving forward with real, lasting comprehensive immigration reform. Immigrants go through a long process to realize their dream of citizenship, and they deserve to have a stable system that works for them instead of against them," said Honda. "The United States is made richer because of our diverse backgrounds, and I see proof of this every day in Silicon Valley. We need to reassure immigrants and future citizens that this mistake will never happen again, and that the U.S. government will work to restore their trust in our immigration system."

The letter was signed by U.S. Reps. Lofgren (D-Calif.), Honda (D-Calif.), Chu (D-Calif.), Clark (D-Mass.), Cummings (D-Md.), Eshoo (D-Calif.), Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Himes (D-Conn.), Hinojosa (D-Texas), Bernice-Johnson (D-Texas), McGovern (D-Mass.), Pallone (D-N.J.), Polis (D-Colo.), Price (D-N.C.), and Adams (D-N.C.).

The full text of the letter is attached and below:

October 29, 2015

The Honorable Jeh Johnson

Secretary

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, D.C. 20528

The Honorable John Kerry

Secretary

Department of State

2201 C Street, NW

Washington, DC 20451

Dear Secretary Johnson and Secretary Kerry:

On November 20, 2014, Secretary Jeh Johnson directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to "continue and enhance its work with the Department of State to ensure that all immigrant visas authorized by Congress are issued to eligible individuals when there is sufficient demand for such visas," and to "improve the system for determining when immigrant visas are available to applicants during the fiscal year."[1] The very next day, President Obama directed that "administrative policies, practices, and systems use all of the immigrant visa numbers that the Congress provides for and intends to be issued, consistent with demand."[2] These announcements were made in recognition of the contributions high-skilled immigrants make to our economy and to support U.S. businesses and workers. When the Departments of State and Homeland security announced early September that the Visa Bulletin was being revised and that foreign nationals would now be able to file for adjustment of status earlier, we applauded those efforts.[3]

Then on September 25, 2015, the Department of State issued a revised Visa Bulletin — one that dramatically scales back the number of immigrants eligible to apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence.[4] As a result, thousands of individuals and businesses that had relied on the original Bulletin filing dates irrevocably lost thousands of dollars in legal fees and other expenses related to preparing their applications. Many have made life-changing decisions that cannot be undone.[5]

We have heard estimates that the revised Bulletin would decrease the number of immigrants eligible for filing by 80% to 95% from the number projected to be eligible under the original Bulletin filing dates. If true, the revision would effectively reverse the progress made toward the Administration's goals to reform our visa system. Therefore, we request that you provide the estimated number of eligible applicants under the initial Visa Bulletin filing dates and the estimated number of eligible applicants under the revised Bulletin. To the extent possible, please provide a breakdown of these projections by preference category and country of chargeability. The Department of State should set Visa Bulletin filing dates to ensure that as many eligible applicants as possible may submit green card applications, consistent with the policy goals outlined by the President.

To ameliorate the hardships caused by the Visa Bulletin revision, we strongly urge that the Department of Homeland Security implement regulatory changes that would benefit high-skilled workers waiting in the United States for immigrant visa numbers. Specifically, we are referring to 1) providing beneficiaries of an approved employment-based petition (Form I-140), and their derivative dependents, employment authorization; and 2) amending the regulations so that such petitions will remain valid in cases where the beneficiary has a new job that is in the same or similar classification as the job for which the petition was filed.[6]

We believe these would be important and meaningful changes that are well within the agency's legal authority. They would permit adversely affected workers to stay in the country while waiting for the filing dates to advance to the dates announced in the initial Visa Bulletin, without sacrificing job flexibility.[7] They would not only help our country to retain valuable high-skilled workers but also better protect American workers, combat abuse, and strengthen the economy, which are the very things that the Secretary and the President intended when making the announcements to modernize our visa system almost one year ago.

Additionally, USCIS should consider the Visa Bulletin revision "an extraordinary circumstance beyond the control of the applicant or petitioner" in the event a person is filing a late request to extend nonimmigrants status.[8] USCIS should also take into consideration the disruption to both businesses and personal lives that the revision has caused when deciding to grant parole for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.[9]

The revision to the Visa Bulletin has undermined the stability and predictability of our immigration system. Our current visa backlog and restrictions already create incentives for skilled foreign workers to leave the United States and take their skills to other countries that offer more competitive immigration programs. This is now exacerbated by a confounding and sudden change to the Visa Bulletin, which has caused the world to lose faith in our immigration process.

We look forward to receiving the requested information as well as any plans your Departments may have in providing relief to those harmed by the revision and in restoring faith in our immigration process.

Sincerely,

U.S. Reps.:

Lofgren Honda

Pallone Polis

Price Johnson

Chu Clark

Cummings Eshoo

McGovern Gabbard

Gutierrez Himes

Hinojosa Adams

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