August 2014 Visa Bulletin: Good News and Bad News

The August 2014 Visa Bulletin has been released.  For family based cases, overall things moved forward slightly.  For employment based cases, both China and India saw some forward movement with EB2s and China saw some movement with EB3s as well.

For the EB2s, India moved from September 1, 2008 to January 22, 2009 and China moved from July 1, 2009 to October 1, 2009, both good jumps forward.  However, later in the bulletin, DOS had this to say:

During the past two months, the India Employment Second preference cut-off date has advanced very rapidly based on the projected availability of “otherwise unused” numbers under the worldwide preference limit. It must not be assumed that this cut-off date will continue to advance at the same pace during the coming months. A cut-off date does not mean that everyone with a priority date before such cut-off date has already been processed to conclusion. It remains to be seen how heavy the demand for visa numbers by applicants will be in the coming months, and what the priority dates of such applicants may be. Heavy demand by applicants with priority dates significantly earlier than the established cut-off date is expected to materialize within the next several months, at which time the cut-off date is likely to retrogress significantly.

So overall, it looks like these movements forward will most likely end at some point, and, in fact, retrogression will kick in.  How far back the dates will go and when they will begin to retrogress is up in the air at this time.  But those with priority dates that are coming current should make sure to either file your adjustment as quickly as possible or contact your attorney and have them bug USCIS to approve your already filed adjustment as quickly as possible before the window of opportunity closes.

In terms of the EB3 numbers, China progressed from October 1, 2006 to November 1, 2008.  Again, however, DOS had additional information to give on this movement as well:

The China-mainland born Employment Third and Third Other Workers cut-off dates have advanced for the month of August, and could do so again for September. There are two reasons for this advance after the retrogression of the cut-off date earlier this summer: 1) The heavy demand by applicants with priority dates significantly (years) earlier than the previous cut-off date has declined during the past two months, and 2) declining number use in the Family preferences during May and June, combined with updated estimates of such number use through the end of the fiscal year, has resulted in availability of several hundred numbers for use in the China-mainland born Employment Third preference.

This looks a little more promising, and the dates for China in the EB3 category may move up significantly without fear of retrogression.  Although this is not for certain, it is looking somewhat positive.

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.