AUGUST 2016 VISA BULLETIN RELEASED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its August 2016 Visa Bulletin imposing cutoff dates for India and China for the EB-1 (Priority Workers) and EB-2-Worldwide categories (Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability) which includes El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines. EB-2-India advanced by 10 days while EB-2-China did not change at all this month. For EB-3 (Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers) categories, all countries except China have moved forward.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will only accept cases for the following:
EB-1-Worldwide: Priority date is current except:
India and China: Priority date of January 1, 2010,
Retrogression of 6 years and 7 months.
EB-2-Worldwide: Priority date of February 1, 2014 except:
Retrogression of 2 years and 6 months.
India: Priority date of November 15, 2004,
Advancement of 10 days.
China: Priority date of January 1, 2010,
No advancement.
EB-3-Worldwide: Priority date of March 15, 2016, except:
Advancement of two weeks.
India: Priority date of November 8, 2004,
Advancement of 17 days.
China: Priority date of January 1, 2010,
No advancement.
Philippines: Priority date of May 15, 2009,
Advancement of three months.
Monthly Check-In with Charlie, Chief of Visa Control:
(Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS), is responsible for analyzing and predicting visa availability for the various immigrant categories.)
As predicted by Charlie last month, a cut-off date for EB-1 China and India of January 1, 2010 was imposed for August 2016. Due to continued high demand, Charlie predicts that September for China and India will remain the same. However, he anticipates that with the upcoming 2017 fiscal year (FY17) on October 1, 2016, China and India will return to current status.
Charlie predicts that for EB-2 worldwide visa numbers, the cutoff date will remain the same in September 2016 due to the high level of demand for EB-2 worldwide visa numbers.
As for EB-2 India, Charlie predicts that India’s cutoff date will remain at just about one week in advance of the EB-3 India cutoff date for September 2016.
Finally, Charlie predicts that the cutoff dates of January 1, 2010, for China, will remain the same for September 2016, which is the end of fiscal year 2016 (FY16).
NOTE: The USCIS will only accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that is current for final action (not Dates for Filing).
Please contact SW Law Group if you have any further questions regarding these developments.