April 2012 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India and China Unchanged; Slow Movement in EB-3; FB-1 Advances Again; Moderate Movement in FB2A

The U.S. State Department just released the April 2012 Visa Bulletin which is the seventh Visa Bulletin for the FY2012 fiscal year.    The major headline in the upcoming month’s bulletin is lack of any movement EB-2 India and China.   Also, there is some  continued forward movement in FB-1.

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

Below is a summary of the April 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 remain unchanged at May 1, 2010.
• EB-3 ROW, EB-3 Mexico and EB-3 Philippines move forward by only three (3) weeks to April 8, 2006, EB-3 China  moves forward by two (1) months to March 1, 2005, while EB-3 India  moves forward by only one (1) week to September 1, 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 April 8, 2006.  It also moves forward by one (1) week for India to September 1, 2002.

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

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

• FB-1 moves forward (again, for seventh consecutive month).  FB-1 ROW, China and India all move forward by two (2) months to April 1, 2005.   FB-1 Mexico moves forward by one (1) week to May 8, 1993 and FB-1 Philippines remains unchanged at June 22, 1997.
• FB-2A moves forward by two and a half (2.5) months to October 8, 2009 for ROW, China, India, and Philippines.  FB-2A Mexico moves forward by two  (2) months to September 1, 2009.
• FB-2B ROW, China and India move forward by two (2) months to January 15, 2004.  FB-2B Mexico remains unchanged at December 1, 1992.   FB-2B Philippines also remains unchanged at December 8, 2001.

Substantial Movement in EB-2 India and China Seems to be Ending;  Slow Movement  for EB-3; Continued (for Seventh Month) Forward Movement in FB-1

One of the major headlines this month, in the seventh Visa Bulletin for the Fiscal Year 2012 is the lack of any 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.   Continued indications are that EB-2 India and China would either remain unchanged or may even retrogress over the remaining months in this fiscal year.   Also, 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 seventh consecutive month with forward movement in the FB-1 category.   We continue to see the FB-2A category move forward at a nice pace as well.

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.    Given stronger demand in EB-2 India/China visa numbers, Mr. Oppenheim has had to keep the April 2012 Visa Bulletin unchanged.   Indications are that 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, including applicants in EB-2 India and EB-2 China whose cutoff dates may retrogress over the next months.   Those applicants whose priority dates are current as of the April 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 April 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.