LewsLaw Monthly Immigration Newsletter February 2010 Volume 2, Number 2
Employment Based Immigrant Visa Numbers inch forward in March 2010
The March 2010 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. State Department; the Bulletin shows slight forward movement in essentially all categories. First Preference Employment Visa Numbers remain current as does Second Preference for all countries except China and India. Finally, after remaining at a stand still for five months, India Second Preference moves forward by nine days to February 1, 2005, while Third Preference also moves forward by nine days to July 1, 2001. Third Preference for the World and China moves forward almost three months to December 15, 2002, while China Second Preference moves forward six weeks to July 8, 2005. Now that the State Department is aware of the visa numbers needed to adjudicate Adjustment of Status cases pending with USCIS and also has a tally of the visa numbers needed at the US Consulates - numbers will move very slowly forward (if at all) - but there should be no retrogression until visa numbers are nearly exhausted in the summer toward the end of the fiscal year.