READ ABOUT VISA CUT-OFF DATES 
By: Shah Peerally Esq.

Visa Bulletin

• August 2015 Visa Bulletin
• No movement for India or China.

The February 2014 Visa Bulletin is out and EB3 for All other countries movie to June 2012 while India still backlogged for both EB2 and EB3.
Family Based

Family-Sponsored	All Charge -ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01JAN07	01JAN07	01JAN07	01OCT93	15AUG01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	08JUL06	08JUL06	08JUL06	01MAY93	22MAY03
F3	15MAY03	15MAY03	15MAY03	01JUN93	08FEB93
F4	22OCT01	22OCT01	22OCT01	08NOV96	08AUG90

Employment Based

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08JAN09	15NOV04	C	C
3rd	01JUN12	01JUN12	01SEP03	01JUN12	15APR07
Other Workers	01JUN12	01JUN12	01SEP03	01JUN12	15APR07
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

The January 2014

FAMILY PETITIONS

Family-Sponsored	All Charge -ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	08DEC06	08DEC06	08DEC06	22SEP93	01JUL01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	01JUN06	01JUN06	01JUN06	01APR94	01MAY03
F3	15APR03	15APR03	15APR03	01JUN93	01FEB93
F4	01OCT01	01OCT01	01OCT01	01NOV96	01JUL90

EMPLOYMENT BASED

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08DEC08	15NOV04	C	C
3rd	01APR12	01APR12	01SEP03	01APR12	15FEB07
Other Workers	01APR12	01APR12	01SEP03	01APR12	15FEB07
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

The December 2013 shows no big move on family petitions but another huge retrogression for India.

Family-Sponsored	All Charge -ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15NOV06	15NOV06	15NOV06	22SEP93	01JUL01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	01MAY06	01MAY06	01MAY06	01APR94	22MAR03
F3	08MAR03	08MAR03	08MAR03	01JUN93	22JAN93
F4	08SEP01	08SEP01	08SEP01	22OCT96	01JUN90

Employment Based Petitions where India retrogresses to 2004

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08NOV08	15NOV04	C	C
3rd	01OCT11	01OCT11	01SEP03	01OCT11	08JAN07
Other Workers	01OCT11	01OCT11	01SEP03	01OCT11	08JAN07
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

The November 2013 Visa Bulletin is out and we see no progress or retrogression on F2A compared to October 2013. No big changes on the EB categories either.

Family Based Categories

Family-Sponsored	All Charge -ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22OCT06	22OCT06	22OCT06	22SEP93	01JUL01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	22MAR06	22MAR06	22MAR06	01APR94	01MAR03
F3	08FEB03	08FEB03	08FEB03	01JUN93	08JAN93
F4	22AUG01	22AUG01	22AUG01	22OCT96	22APR90

Employment Based Categories.

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08OCT08	15JUN08	C	C
3rd	01OCT10	01OCT10	22SEP03	01OCT10	15DEC06
Other Workers	01OCT10	01OCT10	22SEP03	01OCT10	15DEC06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

The Visa Bulletin October 2013 is out and we are seeing a small retrogression on F2A categories to September 2013 and EB2 India on June 2008 and EB3 for all other countries Chargeability is 2010.  Seems the trend continues to be good.

Read the entire Bulletin here

Family

Family-Sponsored	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01OCT06	01OCT06	01OCT06	22SEP93	01JUN01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	01MAR06	01MAR06	01MAR06	08MAR94	08FEB03
F3	22JAN03	22JAN03	22JAN03	22MAY93	01JAN93
F4	08AUG01	08AUG01	08AUG01	15OCT96	22MAR90

Employment

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15SEP08	15JUN08	C	C
3rd	01JUL10	01JUL10	22SEP03	01JUL10	15DEC06
Other Workers	01JUL10	22SEP04	22SEP03	01JUL10	15DEC06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

September 2013 Visa Bulletin

Visa Bulletin is out and Family Petitions F2A still current and India Moves to June 2008 – really good news.

FAMILY PETITIONS

Family-Sponsored	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15SEP06	15SEP06	15SEP06	08SEP93	08MAY01
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	15FEB06	15FEB06	15FEB06	22FEB94	22JAN03
F3	22JAN03	22JAN03	22JAN03	15MAY93	22DEC92
F4	22JUL01	22JUL01	22JUL01	08OCT96	15FEB90

EMPLOYMENT BASED SEPTEMBER 2013

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08AUG08	15JUN08	C	C
3rd	01JUL10	01JUL10	22SEP03	01JUL10	01DEC06
Other Workers	01JUL10	15JUN04	22SEP03	01JUL10	01DEC06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

August 2013 Visa Bulletin.

Finally a move for India EB 2 category to January 2008. We hope this trend will continue.

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08AUG08	01JAN08	C	C
3rd	01JAN09	01JAN09	22JAN03	01JAN09	22OCT06
Other Workers	01JAN09	22MAR04	22JAN03	01JAN09	22OCT06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

Read the entire August 2013 Bulletin here

July 2013 Visa Bulletin EB Category. Again India is stuck to September 2004.  This is getting more and more stressful.

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08AUG08	01SEP04	C	C
3rd	01JAN09	01JAN09	22JAN03	01JAN09	01OCT06
Other Workers	01JAN09	22MAR04	22JAN03	01JAN09	01OCT06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted EmploymentAreas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

More Visa Bulletin 

June 2013

Not much move for India but unexpectedly seems china EB3 is moving faster than EB2

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15JUL08	01SEP04	C	C
3rd	01SEP08	01SEP08	08JAN03	01SEP08	22SEP06
Other Workers	01SEP08	22OCT03	08JAN03	01SEP08	22SEP06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted EmploymentAreas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

May 2013

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15MAY08	01SEP04	C	C
3rd	01DEC07	01DEC07	22DEC02	01DEC07	15SEP06
Other Workers	01DEC07	01SEP03	22DEC02	01DEC07	15SEP06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted EmploymentAreas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

 

 

April 2013 is out and EB2 categories for India is not doing better.  This is a sad situation.

*Employment Third Preference Other Workers Category:  Section 203(e) of the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997, as amended by Section 1(e) of Pub. L. 105-139, provides that once the Employment Third Preference Other Worker (EW) cut-off date has reached the priority date of the latest EW petition approved prior to November 19, 1997, the 10,000 EW numbers available for a fiscal year are to be reduced by up to 5,000 annually beginning in the following fiscal year.  This reduction is to be made for as long as necessary to offset adjustments under the NACARA program.  Since the EW cut-off date reached November 19, 1997 during Fiscal Year 2001, the reduction in the EW annual limit to 5,000 began in Fiscal Year 2002.

 READ THE COMPLETE VISA BULLETIN HERE

MARCH 2013 VISA BULLETIN.

The Visa Bulletin is out again and the March 2013 does not show any improvement for Indian Nationals on EB2 while China mainland moves one month forward.  This is really disturbing.

EMPLOYMENT BASED

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15FEB08	01SEP04	C	C
3rd	01MAY07	22JAN07	22NOV02	01MAY07	01SEP06
Other Workers	01MAY07	01JUL03	22NOV02	01MAY07	01SEP06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted EmploymentAreas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

FAMILY BASED

*NOTE:  For March, F2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 15NOV10.  F2A numbersSUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countriesEXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 15NOV10 and earlier than 22NOV10.  (All F2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit; the

What is the Visa Bulletin?

The Visa Bulletin is what actually controls the issuance of the permanent residence or green card number.  Despite, most of the time the cases for immigration are processed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), until and unless the State Department mentions a “visa” or number is available, the beneficiary will not obtain his or her permanent residence. This is based on a quota allocated as per country. There are few exceptions to this rule namely there are no waiting time for immediate relatives and certain other visas because there are no quota allocated.

Why Dates are Retrogressed or Some People have to wait for a long time to get their permanent residence (green) card?

Because there is a quota and because some countries have a situation of “over-application”,  the Department of State, borrows on the coming years.  For example, let us say for a certain visa, they allocate only 100,000 visas per year.  In this year (Year 1) they received 120,000 applications.  They will serve the 100,000 and wait for the other year to borrow 20,000 which will leave only 80,000 visas for Year 2.  Let us say in year two they get 150,000 applications, they will have to borrow 70,000 visa for Year 3.  And it goes on and on which ultimately creates a backlog on certain family visas and employment based visas.  For this reason a priority is assigned to each application for them to know their position in the line.  Unfortunately since the Department of State (DOS) cannot really predict the number of applications to be received by the DHS, the Visa Bulletin changes every month – sometimes moving forward and unfortunately too often moving backward.

How to read the visa bulletin chart?

The Visa Bulletin is not very complicated to understand if you understand which category you belong to.  However, the dates placed on the visa bulletin only gives the dates when a processing is current for a permanent residence to be issued.  If by the time your case is processed, the date are retrogressed (went backward), the government reserves the right not to issue the green card.  The Visa Bulletin date also does not reflect time the way we understand in general.  For example, you might see a category date is Dec 2010.  Most people would assume as per 2013, in 3 years, you will receive your greencard or permanent resident card.  But that is not true because:

1. The date may advance resulting in someone getting their permanent at an earlier stage; and

2. Dates often retrogress seeing one year for a movement of one month.  The EB3 categories and EB2 categories for India are good examples.

Therefore a prediction based on the Visa Bulletin is almost ‘a guessing game’.  You should always check the visa bulletin.  Our law firm will try its best to put the recent visa bulletin on this link.

What are the Categories for Family Petitions?

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

First:  (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

Explanation: The F1 unmarried sons and daughters – are for US citizens who are applying for their unmarried son or daughters.

Second:  Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents.

Explanation: The F (second) spouses unmarried sons and daughters – are for permanent residents who are applying for their spouses, sons and daughters (Note that a permanent resident cannot applying for married sons or daughters.)

Residents:  114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:

A. (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents:  77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

B. (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents:  23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Explanation: This applies for children who are under 21 years old.  Note that the Child Status Protection Act might be helpful in such cases.

Third:  (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth:  (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens:  65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); “C” means current, i.e., numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and “U” means unavailable, i.e., no numbers are available.  (NOTE:  Numbers are available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.)

(REFER THE CHART FEBRUARY 2013)

*NOTE:  For February, F2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 08OCT10.  F2A numbersSUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countriesEXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 08OCT10 and earlier than 22OCT10.  (All F2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit; there are no F2A numbers for MEXICO subject to per-country limit.)

5.  Section 203(b) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Employment-based immigrant visas as follows:         

EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES

First:   Priority Workers:  28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.

Explanation: EB1 categories are those categories which cater to people with extraordinary  abilities under EB1A, the EB1B for outstanding researchers & professors and EB1C Multinational Managers and Executives (usually people who also qualify for L1 ).  

Second:  Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability:  28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.

Explanation: EB2 categories are those categories which help most of the engineers and people with a US Equivalent Bachelor Degree plus five years of progressive experience or US equivalent or US Masters Degree. 

Third:  Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers:  28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to “*Other Workers”.

Fourth:  Certain Special Immigrants:  7.1% of the worldwide level.

Fifth:  Employment Creation:  7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of Pub. L. 102-395.

On the chart mentioned, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); “C” means current, i.e., numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and “U” means unavailable, i.e., no numbers are available.  (NOTE:  Numbers are available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.)

FAMILY BASED FOR FEBRUARY 2013

Family-Sponsored	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15JAN06	15JAN06	15JAN06	15JUL93	08MAR98
F2A	22OCT10	22OCT10	22OCT10	08OCT10	22OCT10
F2B	15JAN05	15JAN05	15JAN05	15DEC92	15MAY02
F3	08JUL02	08JUL02	08JUL02	08MAR93	22AUG92
F4	15APR01	15APR01	15APR01	01AUG96	01JUN89

EMPLOYMENT BASED FOR FEBRUARY 2013

 

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15JAN08	01SEP04	C	C
3rd	15MAR07	15NOV06	15NOV02	15MAR07	22AUG06
Other Workers	15MAR07	01JUL03	15NOV02	15MAR07	22AUG06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted EmploymentAreas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C