Immigrant Visa – Immigration Briefs

November 2023 Visa Bulletin: Not Much Change

The Visa Bulletin is like a monthly newsletter for immigrant visas. It tells us whether family and employment-based categories are current or backlogged. The Department of State (DOS) and USCIS team up to publish it every month. It’s has two charts: the Final Action Chart (shows priority dates that are current and available) and the Dates for Filing Chart (shows priority dates expected to become current during the fiscal year).

For October and November 2023, USCIS said to use the Dates for Filing Chart to figure out if family and employment-based adjustment of status applications can be filed. The November 2023 Visa Bulletin is mostly a copy-paste of the October 2023 Visa Bulletin, with a few exceptions we’ll get into.

II. Family-Based Case dates are stagnate; No More F2A Concurrent Filing

From September to November 2023, the family-based categories haven’t budged, except for F2A (spouses and children of permanent residents). Until recently, F2A was current on the Dates for Filing Chart, but that’s changed in FY2023. Now, the F2A category (for most countries) has a cutoff date of September 1, 2023, the same as last month, which means there can be no concurrent filing of the I-130 and I-485 applications in this category. The Final Action Date in this date is even farther behind at February 8, 2019.

III. Employment-Based Applications: Still Retrogressed

The October and November 2023 Visa Bulletins continued the retrogression that started with the May 2023 bulletin. Despite the belief that both categories would recover and become current in October, 2023, the EB-2 and EB-3 worldwide had and continue to have cutoff dates since the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2023, which is a first. The EB-3 worldwide Final Action Date moved a bit from May 2021 to December 1, 2021, but EB-2 worldwide is still stuck in July 2022. In the November 2023 Visa Bulletin, EB-2 worldwide Final Action Date moved forward by a week, from July 8, 2022, to July 15, 2022. The EB-2 worldwide Dates for Filing however stayed at January 1, 2023. EB-1 worldwide Final Action Date is current, but China and India are still experiencing retrogression.

Remember, this is just a high-level overview. For the full details, you’ll want to check out the actual Visa Bulletins or consult with a legal professional.

New Fiscal Year, New Visa Bulletin – Uncertain Backlogs

Below is a recap of what the October 2023 visa bulleting showed in terms of movement in all categories. It should be noted that this is the first visa bulletin for the new 2024 fiscal year.

A. FINAL ACTION DATES AND DATES FOR FILING FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES

Family based cases really held fairly steady this month. While there may have been a little movement forward in some areas, there is really nothing worth mentioning.

While we were hoping to see some forward movement in the F2A category (spouses and children of permanent residents) there really was not much. We are still hopeful that in the coming months there may be some additional movement in this category.

A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES

For the EB-1 Category (Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professor, etc.), the final action date came current for all countries EXCEPT: China (mainland) moved forward about two weeks to February 15, 2022 and India moved forward 5 years to January 1, 2017.

For the EB-2 Category (NIW, Master’s PERM cases), the final action date only moved forward about 1 week to July 8, 2022 for most countries (China moved forward to October 1, 2019 and India moved forward to January 1, 2012). We had initially thought that this date would move forward much quicker, but it appears that the Department of State is being a little more careful in its movements and is taking it slowly. Our hope is that this date keeps moving forward for most of the world. India and China may have some forward movement, but it is harder to say.

For the EB-3 Category (professional and skilled PERM) the final action date for most of the world moved forward almost 1.5 years to December 1, 2021 except for India (moved forward about 3 years to May 1, 2012) and China (moved forward about 4 months to January 1, 2020.

B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS

It is important to remember that the Dates for Filing fulfill two purposed. First, it is a date that USCIS MAY decide to use to allow those whose priority date is prior to the date listed to file an I-485 application despite the fact that no immigrant visa is available. Second, it is a way for the Department of State to show where they feel the Final Action Dates will be within the next six months. With that being said, lets look at where things stand.

For the EB-1 Category, most of the world is current. China is now at August 1, 2022, which shows that the DOS feels that there will be some forward movement over the next 6 months, but not that much. India, on the other hand, is now at July 1, 2019, so there may be some quicker forward movement for India.

For the EB-2 Category, most of the world is at January 1, 2023, which means that we could see some good forward movement very quickly in this category, however we will have to wait and see what usage looks like over the next couple of months to really know for sure. China is only about 3 months ahead of its final action date at January 1, 2020 and India is about 5 months ahead at May 15, 2012.

For the EB-3 category most of the world is at February 1, 2023, which shows that there will most likely be some strong forward movement somewhat quickly. Both India and China should see some moderate movements forward as their dates are August 1, 2012 and September 1, 2020 respectively.

Future Employment-Based Visa Availability for FY-2024:

Overall, there have been advancements in final action dates across most employment-based visa categories. These advancements reflect the availability of new visa numbers for FY-2024. However, the actual movement of dates will depend on visa demand and issuance patterns throughout the fiscal year – most especially the next two months.

Upcoming Executive Order Regarding Immigration

images-1_Fotor As most, if not all, of you, have heard, our President is preparing an executive order to limit immigration into the United States. At this time, as the order has not been finalized, we cannot say what the impact will be on individual cases. Below is a list of what we have heard may, or may not, be included in the order:

The reports are that it will only place limits on immigrant visas (definitely affecting consular processing and, maybe affecting the adjustment of status in the US as well). It is reported that it will not affect non-immigrant visa issuance.
The reports are that the immigration halt will be in place for 60 days and then will be re-evaluated.
There have been reports that it will only apply to employment-based cases and will not affect family-based cases.
There have been reports that there will be other exceptions as well for essential employees, which could include health care workers, researchers, farmworkers, and, perhaps, others.

So far, the above is all we know, and even that is not certain because there is no actual draft of the order as of yet. We will update you once the order is finalized and we have more facts.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

Immigrant Visa Backlogs and Congress: Can They Fix the Problem?

Unknown Not everyone realizes but there are huge backlogs of cases for employment based immigrant visas. For about 1 year now the EB-1 category (Extra-ordinary Ability, Outstanding Professor and Researchers and Intra-Company Transferees) category has been backlogged about 1 year for most of the world and several years for China and about 4-5 years for India. The EB-2 category, while current for most of the world, has been backlogged about 4 years for China and about 10 years for India. The same is true of the EB-3 category. For those from India and China especially, the requirement of having to wait 10 years or more for a green card is hard on the family. It can cause children, who may be 2 or 3 when they arrive in the US, to age out before a green card can be obtained – forcing these now grown Children to either go home or get their own visas and begin their own processes. Furthermore, the employees are working for years without hope of major pay increases or promotions, for fear of being fired (if they ask and are denied) and loosing their place in line.

Congress has been looking at ways of fixing this. The most popular bill currently, that almost passed the Senate, would alleviate the issue by removing the per country limitations currently in place for employment based immigrant visas. Currently, all employment based immigrant visas are divided among all countries in the world evenly. While the Department of State can reallocate some visas based upon usage patterns, no country can get more than 7% of the immigrant visas in any given category. That means, for example, for EB-1 visas India can only get about 3,000 visas per year (and that includes visas for all dependents of the primary applicant (spouses and children). The bill in congress would remove those limitation in steps and would put in place protections so those from other countries who already applied in the employment categories when the bill was filed, would not loose their place in line. However, the effect of this bill would hit people from EVERY country.

Within 4-9 years all countries would be facing major backlogs in all categories. While the current backlog would be cleaned out by then, there would still be significant delays for everyone. Another bill, in addition to removing the per country limitations would also remove dependents from the visa count. This means a family of 6 or a family of 4 would be counted as just one immigrant visa against the quota. This would greatly help to reduce the backlog and would go a long way towards ameliorating the issues caused by just removing the per country cap. This bill, however, would also raise the number of employment based immigrant visas, a portion of the bill that is unlikely to pass this Congress or, even if it were, to be signed by this President. There are currently other Senators working at removing the increase in immigrant visas from the bill to try to make it more passable.

Overall, while all these bills try to tackle this issue, the problems with our current immigration system are fairly widespread. Our immigration laws were written over 30 years ago now in many cases, and longer in some. Many things have changed since then and a major overhaul is certainly in order. However, because of the current polarization of our political system, it is doubtful that any such major reform could be passed anytime soon. Therefore, smaller fixes are all we can hope for in the near term. Hopefully congress can get together and put together a bill that will help everyone and help prevent the current backlogs we have.

Those interested in this issue can read a good article in The Washington Post here.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

February 2018 Visa Bulletin Released

Unknown USCIS has released the February 2018 Visa Bulletin. While there is certainly some movement forward, the guidance given by Mr. Oppenheim last month is still in effect and has not changed. Relevant changes are listed below.

Employment Based Immigrant Visas:

EB-1A: Still current for all Countries

EB-2: Current for Worldwide. China is at October 1, 2013, a jump of almost two months. India is at December 8, 2008, forward movement of approximately 2 weeks.

EB-3: Current for Worldwide. China is at September 15, 2014 a jump of about 5 months. India is at December 1, 2006, forward movement of one month.

Family Based Immigrant Visas:

FB-1: Worldwide, China and India are at March 15, 2011. Mexico moved forward about 2 months to July 1, 1996. The Philippines moved forward about 7 months to August 1, 2005.

FB-2A: Worldwide, India, China and the Philippines moved forward 1 month to March 1, 2016. Mexico also moved forward about 1 month to February 1, 2016.

FB-2B: Worldwide, China and India all moved forward about one and half months to January 15, 2011. Mexico and the Philippines each moved forward about 2-3 weeks to September 8, 1996 and July 22, 2006 respectively.

FB-3: Worldwide, China and India all moved forward about 5 weeks to November 15, 2005. Mexico moved forward about 1 week to June 22, 1995 and the Philippines did not move, but stayed at March 15, 1995.

FB-4: Worldwide and China moved forward 1 month to July 22, 2004. India moved forward about 3 weeks to January 8, 2004. Mexico only moved forward 1 week to November 8, 1997. The Philippines moved forward about 1 month to October 1, 1994.

The above summarizes the movements for the mentioned categories. If you are interested in another category, please feel free to contact me directly.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

January 2018 Visa Bulletin and Update from Charlie Oppenheim

Unknown There have been some movements on the immigrant visa front, and some setbacks. Below is an update on where things are and where they may be going.

Employment Based Immigration Visas:

EB-1: Current across the Board for now, however according to Charlie, India and China may backlog by summer.

EB-2: Current for Wordwide. China progressed more than 1 month to August 8, 2013 and India progressed less than 1 month to November 22, 2008. According to Charlie, China should continue to progress, but India will not move forward significantly in the near future, not even progressing into 2009 before the summer of 2018.

EB-3: Current for Worldwide. China moved forward more than 1 month to April 15, 2014. India moved forward a couple of weeks to November 1, 2006. The large demand in EB-3 for India has lessened somewhat so Charlie is hopeful that this category will continue to progress at the same rate over the upcoming months. The Philippines moved forward about 1 month to February 15, 2016. The large demand that had surfaced last month for the Philippines has lessened so, as with India, Charlie is hopeful of continued movement but will be monitoring demand closely.

Family Based Immigration Visas:

FB-1: Most countries moved forward about 1 month to March 15, 2011. The exceptions are Mexico (in 1996) and the Philippines (which is in 2005). According to Charlie the Philippines, which recently had a large retrogression, will not be moving forward anytime soon. Apparently already 40% of their immigration visas in this category are gone, whereas by the end of March they are usually at 54%. Because they are already so close to that number, Charlie has had to slow down visa usage for them in this category (and the FB-2B category as well). Because of movement forward in this category for worldwide number, Charlie is monitoring increased usage very closely.

FB-2A: Most Countries moved forward just over 1 month to February 1, 2016. The only exception was Mexico which is at January 1, 2016.

FB-2B: Most Countries moved forward just a couple weeks to December 1, 2010. The only exceptions are the Philippines, which is in 2006 (see FB-1 for explanation) and Mexico which is in 1996.

FB-3: Most Countries moved forward about 1 month to October 8, 2005. The only exceptions were Mexico and the Philippines, both of which are in 1995.

FB-4: Most Countries moved forward a couple weeks to June 22, 2004. India also moved forward a couple weeks to December 15, 2003. Mexico is in 1997 and the Philippines is in 1994. As India is moving forward in this category, Charlie is monitoring usage very closely in case increased demand surfaces.

President Issues New Travel Restrictions

images On September 24, 2017, the President issued a new Executive Order (“EO”) entitled “Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry into the United States by Terrorists or other Public Safety Threats”. This new EO builds upon the last order, which was only valid for 90 days. However, part of the old EO directed DHS to do a worldwide review to determine what additional information is needed from each foreign country to assess whether foreign nationals who seek to enter the United States pose a security or safety threat. DHS completed that review and gave the President a list of seven countries that had “inadequate” information sharing practices. The new EO implements certain types of restrictions against nationals of these seven countries (plus one additional country that the President felt posed security risks) in terms of their ability to get certain visas.

Who Does the Ban Affect?

The countries that are part of this new Executive Order are:

Chad
Libya
Iran
North Korea
Syria
Venezuela
Yemen
Somalia

As stated, the restrictions are not uniform for all the above countries. The following table lays out what restrictions are placed on immigrant and non-immigrant visas for each country:

Country	Non-Immigrant Visas	Immigrant Visas
Chad	No B-1, B-2 or B-1/B-2 visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
Iran	No non-immigrant visas except the F, M and J student visas	No Immigrant or diversity visas
Libya	No B-1, B-2 or B-1/B-2 visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
North Korea	No nonimmigrant visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
Syria	No nonimmigrant visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
Venezuela	No B-1, B-2 or B-1/B-2 visas of any kind for officials of the following government agencies: Ministry of Interior, Justice, and Peace; the Administrative Service of Identification, Migration and Immigration; the Corps of Scientific Investigations, Judicial and Criminal; the Bolivarian Intelligence Service; and, the People’s Power Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and their immediate family members.	No Restrictions
Yemen	No B-1, B-2 or B-1/B-2 visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
Somalia	No nonimmigrant visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas

Dual Nationals: Dual nationals can still travel and get visas based upon another nationality besides the ones listed above (So, for example, a national of both Iran and Canada can still get any nonimmigrant visa or immigrant visa based upon their Canadian Nationality).

Those in the US at the time the travel ban takes effect: They are not affected by the travel ban as they are already in the US.

Those Outside the US with valid visas: Exempt from the restrictions

Permanent Residents of the US: These people are exempt from the Travel Ban

There are other certain exemptions as well, please make an appointment if you feel you may be affected by the travel ban and we can review the waivers and exemptions with you.

When will the Ban take effect?

From 3:30 pm on September 24, 2017, until 12:01 am on October 18, 2017, Nationals of Iran, Libya, Syria Yemen and Somalia will remain under the previous Travel Ban (i.e. only those with close family ties can get visas). Sudanese national will no longer be subject to any ban as of that date and time.

From 12:01 am on October 18, 2017, forward the above travel restrictions will be in force and will replace the previous Executive Order Travel Ban.

If you feel you may be affected by the new travel ban, please do call our office. We can assess your case and let you know if the travel ban does affect you, and if you are eligible for any of the waiver/exemptions.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

October Visa Bulletin Released

Today, USCIS released the October Visa Bulletin. The big changes are the EB1 coming current (as well as EB2 Worldwide) and a big jump forward in the F4 (siblings of a US Citizen) category for Worldwide, China and, to a lesser extent, India. Below is a summary of the developments this month:

Employment Based:

EB1: As predicted, the EB1 category went current across the Board, including for India and China.

EB2: The Worldwide category went current as well. EB-2 for China is now at May 22, 2013 and India is at September 15, 2008. China only moved forward about 1 week and India moved forward about 3 weeks.

EB3: Worldwide remained Current. India stayed at October 15, 2006. China, on the other hand jumped up to January 1, 2014.

Family Based:

F1: Worldwide, China and India all jumped to December 22, 2010. Mexico moved forward one month to March 1, 1996 and the Philippines remained at January 1, 2007.

F2A: Worldwide, India, China and the Philippines moved forward about 3 weeks to October 22, 2015. Mexico also moved forward about 3 weeks to October 15, 2015.

F2B:Worldwide, China and India moved forward about 1 week to November 9, 2010. Mexico moved forward about 1 week as well to July 15, 1996 and the Philippines staid at January 1, 2007.

F3:Worldwide, China and India moved forward about 2 weeks to July 22, 2005. Mexico moved forward about 2 weeks to April 22, 1995 and the Philippines moved forward about 1 week to February 22, 1995.

F4:Worldwide and China jumped forward about 2 years to May 8, 2004. India jumped a little less (about 1 year) to October 1, 2003. Mexico moved forward about 2 weeks to October 1, 1997 and the Philippines staid at June 1, 1994.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

October 2016 VIsa Bulletin: Forward Movement for All

unknown The Department of State released the visa bulletin for October 2016 recently. Below is a summary of movement and changes.

Family Based Immigrant Visa Numbers

F1 – Unmarried Sons and Daughters of US Citizens: This category moved forward about 1 week to September 22, 2090 for every country except Mexico (which moved forward 1 week to April 1, 1995 and the Philippines (which moved forward 1 week to August 1, 1995).

F2A – Spouses and children of Permanent Residents: All countries moved forward around 1 month, Mexico moved forward about 3 months to December 1, 2014. And the rest of the World moved forward about 5 weeks to December 22, 2014

F2B – Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: Most of the world moved forward about 5 weeks to March 15, 2010. Mexico moved forward only 2 weeks to October 1, 1995 and the Philippines moved forward 1 month to January 1, 2006

F3 – Married Sons and Daughters of US Citizens: Most of the world moved forward about 3 weeks to December 22, 2004. Mexico moved forward about 1 week to November 22, 1994 and the Philippines moved forward about 3 weeks to July 8, 1994

F4 – Brothers and Sisters of US Citizens: China moved forward 4 months to May 1, 2003. India jumped just over 1 year to December 1, 2002. Mexico moved forward a couple weeks to May 1, 1997. The Philippines moved forward about 6 weeks to April 15, 1993. The rest of the world moved forward about 1 month to November 1, 2003

Predictions for coming months:

There should be forward movement on all categories in the next several months of about 2-6 weeks.

Employment Based Immigrant Visas

EB-1: As stated previously, this became current for everyone for October.

EB-2: Again, as we stated previously this became current for Worldwide numbers, Mexico and the Philippines. It moved forward to February 15, 2012 for China and to January 15, 2007 for India.

EB-3: Moved forward 1 month for Worldwide and Mexico to June 1, 2016. China jumped forward to January 22, 2013 (putting the EB-3 category ahead of the EB-2 for China). India Moved forward about 1 month to March 1, 2005 and the Philippines moved forward about 5 months to December 1, 2010.

Predictions for the Coming Months:

For EB-2s the Department of State sees China and India moving forward about 3 months (maybe 4 months for India) in the coming months. Worldwide and Mexico should remain current.

For EB-3s, they still feel that for the Worldwide numbers, demand may cause them to backlog (however this did not occur at all last year, and they thought it would then as well), but we will have to see. For China, EB-3 should move forward about 3 months. It will move forward only about 1 week for India and about 3 weeks for the Philippines.

Checkin With Charlie Oppenheim on Visa Numbers

Charlie Oppenheim, the officer at the Department of State in charge of visa numbers and the Visa Bulletin, recently released an update to his predictions for the upcoming months. Below is a summary of some of that update.

Family Based Visa Numbers

According to Charlie, in September most of the family-based categories will likely hold or retrogress from where they are in August. Only F-4 Worldwide has the potential to advance in September. Charlie expects a full recovery from retrogressions in all of the family-based categories in October, with the exception of F-4 China and F-4 India which will take some time. Beginning in November 2015, beneficiaries of F-4 China and F-4 India started responding to NVC Agent of Choice letters in larger numbers, which has given Charlie better visibility into the demand in these categories, but ultimately resulted in the retrogression of these cut-off dates.

It should be noted that when we state that there will be a “full recovery” Charlie is not saying that the categories will become current, but that they will go back to their pre-August 2015 dates.

Employment Based Visa Numbers

CHINA:

The Final Action date of January 1, 2010 that was imposed in June for both EB-2 and EB-3 China remains the same in August with no forward movement in either of these categories expected this fiscal year (which ends on September 30, 2016).

EB-2 should recover partly in October, 2016 and should fully recover to its previous dates by the end of this calendar year.

INDIA:

EB-3 India should advance modestly into a 2005 Final Action date in September. EB-2 India will continue to track one week ahead of the EB-3 India Final Action date in September.

EB-2 will advance in October 1, 2016 with the new fiscal year, and should fully recover by December of this year.

WORLDWIDE:

EB-3 Worldwide has been hovering close to “current” for some time, and is expected to do so through at least October.

Eb-2 was retrogressed in August to February 1, 2014 with the hope of holding number use to within the EB-2 annual limit. That date should hold in September and is expected to fully recover to “current” in October.