August 2012 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India and China Remain Unavailable; EB-2 ROW Cutoff Date Unchanged at January 1, 2009; FB-1 Philippines Retrogresses by 32 Months

The U.S. State Department has just released the August 2012 Visa Bulletin which is the eleventh Visa Bulletin for the FY2012 fiscal year.    The major headline in the upcoming month’s bulletin is the continued unavailability in the EB-2 India and China categories (which is expected to continue for at least one more months), the unchanged cutoff date for EB-2 ROW and the significant (32 months) retrogression for FB-1 Philippines.

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

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

• EB-1 remains current across the board.
• EB-2 for ROW, Mexico and Philippines continues (until October 1, 2012) to have a cutoff date of January 1, 2009.    EB-2 India and EB-2 China remain unavailable.
• EB-3 ROW and EB-3 Mexico move forward by six (6) weeks to September 8, 2006.  EB-3 Philippines moves forward by one (1) week to June 15, 2006, EB-3 China  moves forward by six (6) weeks to November 8, 2005, while EB-3 India  moves forward by only one (1) week to October 1, 2002.
• The “other worker” category remains unchanged at June 15, 2003 for China and at June 8, 2006 for Philippines.  It moves forward by six (6) weeks for ROW and Mexico to September 8, 2006.  It also moves forward by one (1) week for India to October 1, 2002.

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

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

• FB-1 moves forward (again, for tenth consecutive month).  FB-1 ROW, China and India all move forward by three (3) weeks to August 1, 2005.   FB-1 remains unchanged at June 8, 1993 and FB-1 Philippines retrogresses by thirty-two (32) months back to March 1, 1994.
• FB-2A moves forward by one (1) month to March 15, 2010 for ROW, China, India, and Philippines.  FB-2A Mexico moves forward by one (1) month to March 1, 2010.
• FB-2B ROW, China and India move forward by six (6) weeks to June 22, 2004.  FB-2B Mexico moves forward by almost eight (8) months to August 22, 1992 and FB-2B Philippines moves forward by one (1) week to January 1, 2002.

Continued Cutoff Date for EB-2 ROW Caused by High Demand In Filings

The introduction of a cutoff date for the EB-2 Rest of the World (ROW) category last month in the July Visa Bulletin came as a surprise to many, despite earlier indications by the Department of State has and our warnings of the possibility of cutoff dates in the EB-2 ROW category.   The cutoff date of January 1, 2009 for EB-2 ROW remains in this month’s Visa Bulletin.    This aggressive retrogression and the lack of movement this month suggest that the demand of EB-2 visas has been greater and we should not anticipate any relief in this category for the remainder of the fiscal year (until October 1st).   In fact, the Department of State has warned that they may even need to make the EB-2 ROW category unavailable for the remaining Visa Bulletin for this fiscal year.

EB-2 India and China Remains Unavailable;  Will Remain for the Remainder of the Fiscal Year

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