New Visa Bulletin, New Possible Backlogs

DOS released the March 2023 Visa Bulletin a couple days ago and has indicated that new possible backlogs could be down the road and also appeared to remove some possible backlogs as well.

First, last month the Department of State indicated that the Family Based 2A category (spouses and minor children of Permanent Residents) had the possibility of backlogging as soon as this month. Well, this month came, and it did not backlog. In addition, this month, there was no indication that the category is in trouble of backlogging in the future. This would lead me to believe that this category should stay current for the foreseeable future.

Second, as we reported previously, the Employment-Based Second Category (which includes employer-sponsored applications for those with a Master’s Degree or higher as well as National Interest Waiver applications) is backlogged for all countries and has been so since December 2022. In this month’s bulletin, the DOS states as follows:

Since December 2022, there has been higher than expected number use and demand, mostly due to continued new filings by applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than the established final action dates. This will necessitate corrective action in the coming months to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the Fiscal Year 2023 annual limit.  This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

This means there is now little hope of the EB-2 category coming current or moving forward until at least October 1, 2023, when the new government fiscal year begins.

Third, the DOS is now indicating that the Employment-Based Third category (employer-sponsored cases for those positions that require a Bachelor’s degree, two years of experience, or are considered unskilled labor) may become backlogged in the near future. The DOS stated:

Increased demand in the Employment Third category may necessitate the establishment of a worldwide final action date (including Mexico and Philippines) in the coming months to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the Fiscal Year 2023 annual limit. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

Other than the above, most categories did not have any changes in terms of dates. The only exceptions are Employment-Based Category 4 (special immigrants and religious workers) and the Employment-Based 5th preference for India (Investment green card) – which backlogged almost another year.

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

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EB-2 Backlogs for All Countries as of December 1, 2022

The December 2022 Visa Bulletin was released today. In the new bulletin, the Department of State has determined that the EB-2 category needs to be backlogged somewhat because of demand. As a reminder, the EB-2 category includes employer-sponsored applications for positions that require an Advanced Degree (Master’s or higher degree) as well as the National Interest Waiver (NIW) self-sponsored applications.

As of December 1, 2022, the FINAL ACTION DATE for all EB-2 cases will be November 1, 2022. This means that only those I-140 EB-2 applications filed prior to November 1, 2022, would be able to have their Adjustment of Status application (I-485) approved (assuming that you had already filed the adjustment of status before December 1, 2022).

As of December 1, 2022, the DATE FOR FILING will be December 1, 2022. USCIS has indicated that it is using the Dates for Filing in December – this means as long as you filed the I-140 before December 1, 2022, you can file your I-485 at that point. However, every month USCIS re-looks at which table it should use to determine filing dates. USCIS decides between allowing people to file the I-485 based upon the Dates for Filing OR the Final Action Dates, and we do not know, as of yet, if, after December, USCIS will continue to use Dates for Filing or not. We will update you as we find out.

The above means that, as of December 2, 2022, there will no longer be ANY concurrent filing of the I-140 NIW and the I-485 allowed. This applies to everyone, regardless of where you were born, and this is a major change for everyone on very short notice. Please contact us if you need more information or help to file quickly.

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

EB-2 Worldwide Numbers May Become Backlogged In The Coming Months

The Department of State, in the November 2022 Visa Bulletin, included the following in its list of possible future changes in the visa bulletin:

Increased demand in the Employment Second category may necessitate the establishment of a worldwide final action date in the coming months to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the Fiscal Year 2023 annual limit. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

Unfortunately, this means it is very likely that the EB-2 category (which includes employer-sponsored immigrant visas for those with a Master’s Degree or higher and those filing a National Interest Waiver) will backlog in the coming months. We do not know precisely when, and most likely, it will not be until the beginning of next calendar year, but we will have to keep a close eye on the visa bulletin in the coming months.

One point of interest is that DOS indicates that the “final action date” may retrogress. This could mean that the “dates for filing” date could remain current. It would then be up to USCIS to determine which dates they will use to allow the filing of the I-485. For those who may not remember, or be familiar with, the different dates used by the DOS: The “final action dates” table lists the dates for each immigrant visa type for which an immigrant visa is available (this date needs to be current for the I-485 or consular processing case to be approved); The “dates for filing” table lists the dates for each immigrant visa type for which the Department of State thinks that the “final action date” will be at within the next 6-12 months (it is the table used by the Department of State to determine when to begin the consular processing part for each case type). Each month USCIS indicates which table it will use to determine if a potential immigrant can file an I-485 application in a particular immigrant visa category.

If the EB-2 Worldwide numbers do retrogress (and remember, right now, this is just a warning from DOS, not a sure thing), it would also have an impact on the EB-2 numbers for China and India, considering that they will not be able to use any unused numbers from the worldwide visa numbers to help keep those dates where they are, or progress them. It may mean that those countries’ dates retrogress even further.

Those looking at filing an I-485 based on their EB-2 filing or approval should do so as soon as possible to ensure that they will not be locked out of filing the I-485 by retrogression. If you have questions or would like to set up an appointment with us to discuss the filing of the I-485 in your case, please use the following link: https://bit.ly/3NwfebH

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.

May 2020 Visa Bulletin and Guidance from Mr. Oppenheim are out

UnknownThe biggest news this month is that the EB-1 category came current for Most Countries (but not all).  Additionally, the EB-2 category remained current.  Otherwise, there was movement but not much in terms of surprises.  Mr. Oppenheim did ensure us that the Visa Bulletin is being processed based upon the same infomration in the past during this difficult time.  However, as he is working remotely, he did not have access to the necessary databases when talking with AILA this month, so was unable to make precise predictions.  Details are below:

Family Based Categories

F1: Moved forward almost three months to March 22, 2014 for most of the World EXCEPT  Mexico (moved forward about 1 month October 22, 1997) and the Philippines (moved forward 6 months to September 1, 2010).

F2A: Remained Current for the World.

F2B: Moved forward two and a half months to January 15, 2015 for most of the World EXCEPT  Mexico (moved forward about one and a half months to January 15, 1999) and the Philippines (moved forward 4 months to June 1, 2010).

F3: Moved forward about one and a half months to March 15, 2008  for most of the World EXCEPT  Mexico (moved forward one month to June 8, 1996) and the Philippines (moved forward 6 months to November 15, 2000).

F4: Moved forward about three weeks to July 22, 2006 for most of the World EXCEPT  India (moved forward about 2 weeks to January 8, 2005), Mexico (moved forward about 1 month to April 15, 1998) and the Philippines (moved forward 5 months to October 1, 2000.

UPDATE FROM DOS:

Mr. Oppenheim stated that all family categories should continue to move forward consistent with his projections last month.

Employment-Based Preference Categories

EB-1:  is now CURRENT for most of the world EXCEPT China (moved forward about 1 month to  July 15, 2017) and India (moved forward about three months to August 1, 2015).

EB-2:  Stayed Current for most of the world EXCEPT China (moved forward about 1 month to September 15, 2015) and India (moved forward about one week to June 2, 2009).

EB-3:  Stayed BACKLOGGED to January 1, 2017 for most of the world EXCEPT China (moved forward one month to May 15, 2016) and India (moved forward over one month to March 1, 2009).

UPDATE FROM DOS:

No further predictions were given this month. Hopefully Mr. Oppenheim can get us this information next month.

Please contact us with any questions or concerns.  And 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.

Upcoming Executive Order Regarding Immigration

images-1_FotorAs 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:

  1. 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.
  2. The reports are that the immigration halt will be in place for 60 days and then will be re-evaluated.
  3. There have been reports that it will only apply to employment-based cases and will not affect family-based cases.
  4. 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.

February Visa Bulletin and Update from DOS

UnknownOnce again the EB-2 category has remained current despite the projections that there could be a backlog (although, as you will see below, we are not yet out of the woods on the EB-2 retrogression as of yet).  Below are the movements in most Family and Employment categories as well as an update from Charlie Oppenheim of the Department of State on probable movement in the near future.

Family Based Categories

F1: Moved forward a little over a month to August 22, 2013 for most of the World EXCEPT  Mexico (moved forward about 2 weeks to August 22, 1997) and the Philippines (moved forward 2.5 months to April 1, 2009).

F2A: Remained Current for the World

F2B: Moved forward almost two weeks to August 22, 2014 for most of the World EXCEPT  Mexico (moved forward about 3 weeks to September 15, 1998) and the Philippines (moved forward 3 months to May 1, 2009).

F3: Moved forward about 1 week to November 22, 2007 for most of the World EXCEPT  Mexico (moved forward about 3 weeks to March 22, 1996) and the Philippines (moved forward 4 months to May 1, 1999).

F4: Moved BACKWARD about 8 months to July 1, 2006 for most of the World EXCEPT  India (moved forward about 2 weeks to November 22, 2004), Mexico (moved forward about 1 weeks to January 15, 1998) and the Philippines (moved forward 4 months to July 1, 1999).

UPDATE FROM DOS:

F2A will see a backlog in the coming months.  Charlie is not quite sure when, but it will occur.

F4 retrogressed due to a dramatic increase in demand for this category.  Expect this new date to be held for the next several months.

Employment-Based Preference Categories

EB-1:  Moved forward about 1 month to December 1, 2018 for most of the world EXCEPT China (held at May 22, 2017) and India (stayed at January 1, 2015).

EB-2:  Stayed Current for most of the world EXCEPT China (moved forward about 1 week to July 15, 2015) and India (moved forward 1 day to May 19, 2009).

EB-3:  Stayed Current for most of the world EXCEPT China (moved forward 1 month to January 1, 2016), India (moved forward 1 week to January 8, 2009) and the Philippines (moved forward about 2.5 months to June 1, 2018).

UPDATE FROM DOS:

EB-1: In February, the final action date for EB-1 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, Philippines, and Vietnam) advances two months to December 1, 2018. Based on currently available information, it remains possible–yet too early to confirm–that this category could become current in the summer of 2020.

EB-2:  Charlie notes that demand for EB-2 Worldwide numbers continues to trend in such a way that a final action date may be imposed at some point during the second half of FY2020.

EB-3:  Charlie notes that EB-3 Worldwide and EB-3 Other Workers Worldwide will become subject to a final action date in March 2020. Charlie will determine what that date will be upon receipt of data from USCIS in February 2020.

Please contact us with any questions or concerns.  And 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.

Charlie Oppenheim Updates his Predications for Movement of Immigration Visa Numbers

Charlie Oppenheim updated his predictions on the movement of immigrant visa numbers for the foreseeable future. I will detail some of the highlights below, however, please do remember that these are just predictions from Mr. Oppenheim and they can change depending on what the actual demand in any given category actually materializes.

EB-1

 

While Charlie previously thought there would not be movement forward until next year, it now appears that next month (December) should see forward movement on the Worldwide numbers as well as for India and China. Charlie is still not sure how far forward they will move, so we will need to wait for next month to see what happens. He does caution, however, that Worldwide numbers will not become current in the foreseeable future, and this will probably be the norm for at least the first half of the fiscal year.

EB-2 + EB-3

 

Based upon current demand, China numbers will continue to move forward as they did for the November bulletin. On the other hand, EB-3 for China is seeing high demand right now. At the moment EB-2 China is only about 2 weeks ahead of EB-3 China. It is possible that the EB-2 date will pass the EB-3 date soon. However, Charlie is not sure if the current EB-3 demand is based upon downgraded EB-2s. If this is the case, then the forward movement of EB-2 dates could be affected by this phenomena.

For India, the EB-2 numbers and EB-3 numbers held steady in November, and it is projected that there will be little , if any, advancement in December for the EB-2 numbers. However the EB-3 usage is lighter, and there should be forward movement of a few weeks (or even months) in December.

 

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p dir=”auto”>If you have any questions, please call or email me. 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.