The October 2013 priority dates: Category F-2A no longer ‘current’

The October 2013 priority dates indicate that the F-2A priority date has retrogressed (or moved backwards), but by less than one month (to September 8, 2013), which is almost the same as being “current.”  Despite this minor retrogression, it is still phenomenal news for spouses and minor children of green cardholders (Category F – 2A). That means that spouses and minor children of green cardholders would be eligible to file for adjustment of status and work authorization, if they are in the US, and are otherwise eligible, if their petition was filed before September 8, 2013! It is almost like a US citizen petitioning for a spouse or minor child: they are almost immediately eligible for adjustment and work authorization. 

If you have an F–2A petition pending, you should immediately seek the advice of an attorney to see if your family is eligible to file for adjustment of status (i.e. evaluate if in status, need 245(i), fraud and other admissibility issues, crimes, same sex marriage, preserve your child’s CSPA eligibility in the US or Philippines, etc.), but you probably need to hurry, because this phenomenal opportunity will likely end soon, depending on how many applicants take advantage of this benefit.

Each month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning that immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below. If your priority date was “current,” but later retrogressed (or “moved backwards” and became unavailable) before your immigrant visa was issued (or before you adjusted status in the U.S.), you would have to wait until it becomes current again. 

The October 2013 priority dates for the Philippines are as follows:

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