Visa Bulletin August 2017
/The August 2017 Visa Bulletin is now in effect and with this month's visa bulletin we see retrogression in the EB-2 category for all countries, and continued backlogs in the EB-1 category for both India and China. The Visa Bulletin is a publication from the U.S. Department of State, released monthly, that informs beneficiaries of employment-based and family-based immigrant petitions when they are eligible to undertake consular processing for immigrant visas or apply for adjustment of status in the United States for securing their lawful permanent resident ("green card") status. In many categories and for several populous countries, there can be backlogs and years of waiting for a green card to become available. Typically, the EB-1 category (available for Aliens of Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Multinational Managers) is current all year round - meaning if a foreign national meets that criteria, he or she may file their green card application concurrently with the EB-1 petition. Similarly, the EB-2 category for persons with advanced degrees or filing under the National Interest Waiver category is current for foreign national from most countries (China and India are notable exceptions) all year round.
With the July Visa Bulletin, the EB-1 category became backlogged for persons from India and China and that trend now extends to the EB-2 category for all other countries effective August 1, 2017. Since the U.S. government runs on a fiscal year that begins October 1, most observers expect these categories will again become current this fall. This trend, however, shows us that these categories are highly sought-after throughout the year and applicants would be wise to file as early in the fiscal year as possible, as waiting until the summer months brings with it a risk for backlogs and unavailability of green cards until the next fiscal year.
If you have questions concerning immigrant visa availability and the potential effects on your case, please contact the attorneys at Iandoli Desai & Cronin at info@iandoli.com.
