According to the Labor Department:

No, an application converted to RIR processing retains the priority date of the original application. Likewise, if the request for RIR conversion is denied, the case continues processing in the TR queue under the original priority date.

According to the Labor Department:

If the request is granted, the employer or their designated attorney will be notified by e-mail and the application will be moved from the TR processing queue to the RIR processing queue. Applications will continue to be processed by filing date.

According to the Labor Department:

The BECs will process the requests for RIR conversion on a first-come, first-serve basis. Response times to requests will vary depending on the volume of responses. Employers will not receive a confirmation that the request was received.

BECs will review the documentation provided and determine whether the documentation provided is sufficient.

According to the Labor Department:

Send the required information listed above by mail to the appropriate BEC based on where the case was filed. The information should be addressed:

For Philadelphia BEC:
ATTN: RIR Conversion Request & Documentation
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
1 Belmont Avenue, Suite 200
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

For Dallas BEC:
ATTN: RIR Conversion Request & Documentation
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
700 North Pearl St., Suite 400N
Dallas, Texas 75201

According to the Labor Department:

The supporting documentation required for conversion to RIR processing is the same as that required for an application initially filed under the RIR process, with the addition of a written request for conversion. Employers or their attorneys should ensure the request includes:

1. A written request for conversion;
2. Documentation demonstrating that a pattern of recruitment has been established within the six months preceding the date the conversion request is received by the BEC, and that any U.S. workers were rejected solely for lawful, job-related reasons. Documentation must provide a description of the recruitment process used and the results of the recruitment process;
3. Contact information regarding the application including an e-mail address where a reply to the RIR conversion request can be sent.

Extended RIR Conversion Date

Backlog Elimination Centers

If you have job skills which require at least 2 years of training or experience, or you have a combination of education and experience which is the equivalent of a bachelor's degree, AND you have a U.S. employer who is offering you a full time position which requires those types of skills or degree, then you may be able to qualify for U.S. Permanent Residency under the EB-3 category for "SKILLED WORKERS".

The general purpose of a Re-entry Permit is to allow green card holders, who have left the U.S. for more than one year, but for less than two years, back into the United States. Permanent residents who leave for less than one year can generally re-enter the U.S. through the use of their "green card" plus their passport. However, permanent residents who remain outside the U.S. for more than one year CANNOT use their "green card" for this purpose. Consequently, they must obtain a Re-entry Permit IN ADVANCE, PRIOR TO LEAVING THE U.S.

Those green card holders who remain outside the U.S. for more than two years must obtain a "special immigrant" visa at a U.S. consulate abroad, in order to re-entry the U.S.

Wee Shu Min is the 18 year old daughter of Wee Siew Kim, a current Member of the Parliament of Singapore in the Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (Jalan Kayu), representing the current ruling People's Action Party. She is purportedly a student in Raffles Junior College's scholarship program.

EB-5 Successful Cases:  Limited Liability Partnerships investing in U.S. REAL ESTATE 

A "garden variety" direct investment in U.S real estate would NOT qualify for obtaining an EB-5 investor green card because that type of investment is considered a PASSIVE investment, and one of the key requirements of the EB-5 category is that the investment must be an ACTIVE investment, i.e., one which involves directing or managing an active enterprise. However, there have been successful EB-5 cases which involve indirect investments in real estate which get around the active investment requirement through the use of a Limited Liability Partnership.

On October 20, 2006, the USCIS issued a notice regarding certain I-485, adjustment of status, applications filed under the Cuban Adjustment Act. Specifically, the USCIS advised that the National Benefits Center transferred certain Cuban Adjustment Act Applications received on or after October 1, 2006, which do not require an interview, to the Texas Service Center. The USCIS stressed: "This internal transfer of work does not alter, in any way, the existing process for filing a CAA application with USCIS. Customers will continue receiving a receipt notice for their case with a receipt number bearing an “MSC” prefix."

Advance Parole is permission to re-enter the United States after traveling abroad in order to continue processing for adjustment of status or other benefits.  This section discusses various issues regarding Advance Parole.

This webpage reproduces the USCIS "COLOR PHOTOGRAPH SPECIFICATIONS" which define the requirements for photographs to be submitted to the USCIS for Permanent Residency, i.e. "greencard", purposes. Please be sure to check with the USCIS for any changes.

The general rule, commonly known, is that E-1’s, E-2’s, H-1’s, and L’s, who file for Adjustment of Status can continue to work under their previous status prior to obtaining their EAD card under the Adjustment of Status procedure, PROVIDED that they are otherwise maintaining their non-immigrant status (e.g., E-1, E-2, H-1, or L). What is less commonly known is that the position of the USCIS (as stated in an INS Memorandum from 1997) is that this general rule applies to “all nonimmigrants”.

Adjustment of Status is the process of applying for U.S. Permanent Residency ("green card" status) from within the U.S., as opposed to traveling to a U.S. Consulate outside of the U.S. to obtain U.S. Permanent Residency, known as "Consular Processing." Adjustment of Status and its counterpart, Consular Processing, are usually the final step in obtaining U.S. Permanent Residency, i.e., after one's immigrant petition (e.g., I-140, I-130, etc.) has been approved. However, under current procedure,s it may be possible to file an immigrant petition together with an Adjustment of Status application.

You may be able to qualify for a fast track Green Card (EB1) if you are an executive or manager who will be employed in the U.S. in an executive or managerial position by a company, or affiliate or subsidiary of a company, which employed you outside the U.S. in a managerial or executive capacity (a) for at least 1 year in the past 3 years if you are currently outside of the U.S., or (b) for at least 1 year in the 3 years preceding your entry into the U.S. if you are currently in the U.S.

The USCIS issued a Press Release, on October 4, 2006, reminding Applicants for Adjustment of Status, and other benefits, to obtain ADVANCE PAROLE Before Holiday Travel Abroad.

It is important that physicians who are considering applying for a green card remember that there are certain circumstances under which they may not have to first pass USMLE. There are certain exempt categories. For example, if a physician qualifies as an alien of extraordinary ability or as an outstanding professor or researcher, passage of the USMLE exam is not necessary. Of course, whether the USCIS requires that the physician have passed USMLE is a separate requirement from the requirements imposed by State licensing authorities.

Second, the USMLE requirement only applies if the physician will be involved in patient care. "Researchers, teachers, etc. are not subject to this requirement." Third, the USMLE requirement does not apply if the physician was fully and permanently licensed to practice medicine in a State of the U.S. on January 9, 1978, and was practicing medicine in a State of the U.S. on that date.

On 10/17/06, the U.S. Department of Labor's Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) issued a ruling in a case, Matter of Custom Landscape Construction, Case No. 2005-INA-181 (10/17/06), in which it addressed the circumstances under which an employer can claim that it actually had MULTIPLE OPENINGS.