The Department of State has released the October Visa Bulletin and Charlie Oppenheim, the person in charge of the Visa Bulletin has also updated us on what may happen in the near future with visa numbers.
First, in terms of the Visa Bulletin, what is probably most important to people is the EB-1 and EB-2 priority date cut-offs. For October, the EB-1 cutoff for worldwide (and yes, it is NOT current) is April 1, 2017. For India and China it is June 1, 2016. According to Charlie, these dates will most likely not change until January 2019.
For EB-2 numbers, Worldwide did come back to Current. However India and China remain backlogged. India is at March 26, 2009 and China is at April 1, 2015. Worldwide EB-3 is also current again, with India at January 1, 2009, China at June 1, 2015 and the Philippines at June 1, 2017. Right now Charlie is predicting that Worldwide numbers will remain Current for the foreseeable future. India and China will both move forward slowly, and India EB-3 may surpass India EB-3 at some point this year.
For Family based immigrant visas, according to Charlie, Mexico and China may move forward more rapidly than in the past as there has been less demand from those countries. India, however, has seen increased demand and may not move forward as rapidly, if at all. For specific categories and their priority dates, please call us.
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.
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