LewsLaw Monthly Immigration Newsletter March 2012 Volume 4, Number 3
Employment Based Immigrant Visa Numbers for April 2012
On March 12 2012, the U.S. State Department released the April 2012 Visa Bulletin which shows continued availability and movement forward for some employment based visa categories. First Preference Employment for all countries and Second Preference Employment for the world except China and India visa numbers remain current. India and China Second Preference Employment cut off date has now stagnated on the cut off date of May 1, 2010. This is likely due to the fact that USCIS has now been adjudicating the adjustment of status cases filed since the fall of 2011 - it would now seem that the cut off date may not move until October 2012.
Third Preference Employment for the World, the Philippines and Mexico moves forward by three weeks again from March 15, 2006 to April 8, 2006. China now moves two months from January 1, 2005 to March 1, 2005. Third Preference India moves again about one week from August 22, 2002 to September 1, 2002.
EB-2 Visa Projections for India and China
On March 16, 2012, Charlie Oppenheim, Chief, Visa Control and Reporting of the Department of State, stated that he will likely retrogress India and China Employment-Based Second Preference priority dates to around August 2007, effective with either the May or June 2012 Visa Bulletin. He also advised that he projects that all EB-1 visas available in FY2012 will be used this year, resulting in no “spilldown” to EB-2.