March 2012 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India and China Advance by Four Months; Slow Movement in EB-3; FB-1 Advances Again; Moderate Movement in FB2A

The U.S. State Department just released the March 2012 Visa Bulletin which is the sixth Visa Bulletin for the FY2012 fiscal year.    The major headline in the upcoming month’s bulletin is the continuing significant (but decreasing) forward movement in EB-2 India and China (by four months) and the continued forward movement in FB-1.

Summary of the March 2012 Visa Bulletin – Employment-Based (EB)

Below is a summary of the March 2012 Visa Bulletin with respect to employment-based petitions:

• EB-1 remains current across the board.
• EB-2 remains current for EB-2 ROW, Mexico and Philippines.   EB-2 India and EB-2 China both move forward by four (4) months to May 1, 2010.
• EB-3 ROW, EB-3 Mexico and EB-3 Philippines move forward by only three (3) weeks to March 15, 2006, EB-3 China  moves forward by one (1) month to January 1, 2005, while EB-3 India  moves forward by only one (1) week to August 22, 2002.
• The “other worker” category remains unchanged (again) at  April 22, 2003 for China.  It moves forward by three (3) weeks for ROW, Mexico and Philippines to March 15, 2006.  It also moves forward by one (1) week for India to August 22, 2002.

Summary of the March 2012 Visa Bulletin – Family-Based (FB)

Below is a summary of the March 2012 Visa Bulletin with respect to family-based petitions:

• FB-1 moves forward (again, for sixth consecutive month).  FB-1 ROW, China and India all move forward by five (5) weeks to February 1, 2005.   FB-1 Mexico moves forward by one (1) week to May 1, 1993 and FB-1 Philippines moves forward by one (1) month to June 22, 1997.
• FB-2A moves forward by six (6) weeks to July 22, 2009 for ROW, China, India, and Philippines.  FB-2A Mexico moves forward by seven (7) weeks to July 1, 2009.
• FB-2B ROW, China and India move forward by one (1) month to November 15, 2003.  FB-2B Mexico remains unchanged at December 1, 1992.   FB-2B Philippines moves forward by five (5) weeks to December 8, 2001.

Substantial Movement in EB-2 India and China Continues (but May be Slowing);  Slow Movement  for EB-3; Continued (for Sixth Month) Forward Movement in FB-1

One of the major headlines this month, in the sixth Visa Bulletin for the Fiscal Year 2012 is the continued (but decreasing) forward movement in EB-2 India and China.    This is a confirmation of the Visa Bulletin Predictions provided by our office after meeting Mr. Charles Oppenheim on October 26, 2011 and the subsequent comments Mr. Oppenheim provided on January 19, 2012.   The slow movement across EB-3 especially EB-3 India continues, unfortunately.

We see continued forward movement in the FB-1 category which, for several months, had not changed.   This month’s forward movement is the sixth consecutive month with forward movement in the FB-1 category.   We continue to see the FB-2A category move forward, although by not as much as we saw for the last few months and after the significant retrogression during the months before.

EB-2 China and India Predictions

We can rely on Mr. Oppenheim’s January 19, 2012 comments regarding anticipated movements of the cutoff dates over the next few months.    After the forward movement in EB-2 China/India in March, there may be some additional forward movement in the April 2012 Visa Bulletin.   Afterwards, Mr. Oppenheim is expected to hold the priority date over the summer, and then retrogress or advance, as needed and as determined by demand over the summer.    Mr. Oppenheim does not have enough data at this time to predict demand and priority date changes in the last quarter of FY2012.

Current Priority Date?

Our office stands ready to assist in the applicable process to take advantage of this significant movement in the cutoff dates across many of the categories, specifically in EB-2 India and EB-2 China.   Those applicants whose priority dates are current as of the March 2012 Visa Bulletin may be eligible to process their (and their family members’) I-485 Adjustment of Status applications from within the U.S. or process their immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad.   Please do not hesitate to contact us if our office can help you take advantage of this significant forward movement in the cutoff dates.    We are also happy to provide a free quote for preparing and filing your I-485 application.

Further Updates and News

We invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.  We also invite you to contact us if our office can be of any assistance in your immigration matters or you have any questions or comments about the March 2012 Visa Bulletin.  Finally, if you already haven’t, please consider our Visa Bulletin Predictions tool which provides personalized predictions and charts helping you understand when a particular priority date may become current and what are the movement patterns.