August 2013 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India Moves Forward Significantly; FB-2A is Current

Summary of the August 2013 Visa Bulletin – Employment-Based (EB)

Below is a summary of the August 2013 Visa Bulletin with respect to employment-based petitions:

• EB-1 remains current across the board.
• EB-2 for ROW, Mexico and Philippines are all current.    EB-2 India moves forward (finally!) by three years and four months to January 1, 2008.  EB-2 China remains unchanged at August 8, 2008.
• EB-3 ROW, China and Mexico remain unchanged at January 1, 2009.  EB-3 Philippines moves forward by three (3) weeks to October 22, 2006, while EB-3 India  remains unchanged at January 22, 2003.
• The “other worker” category remains unchanged for ROW and Mexico at January 1, 2009.  It moves forward by three (3) weeks to October 22, 2006 for Philippines and remains unchanged at March 22, 2004 for China and it also remains unchanged at January 22, 2003 for India.

Summary of the August 2013 Visa Bulletin – Family-Based (FB)

Below is a summary of the August 2013 Visa Bulletin with respect to family-based petitions:

• FB-1 continues to move forward.  FB-1 ROW, China and India all move forward by three (3) months to September 1, 2006.   FB-1 Mexico moves forward by only one (1) week to September 1, 1993 and FB-1 Philippines moves forward by six (6) months to January 1, 2001.
• FB-2A is current for everyone.
• FB-2B ROW, China and India all move forward by one (1) month to December 1, 2005.  FB-2B Mexico moves forward by three  (4) months to February 1, 1994 while FB-2B Philippines remains unchanged at December 22, 2002.

EB-2 India Finally Moves Forward – Significantly

EB-2 India had been stuck at September 1, 2004 since the October 2012 Visa Bulletin – this is when EB-2 India retrogressed significantly and until today there had been no movement in this category.  We welcome the significant forward movement of three years and four months in this category — to January 1, 2008.   We had been expecting forward (see our predictions from June 13) movement in India this month and our office has been preparing for the increased activity which will inevitably result.

The Department of State has indicated that this significant advancement has been done in order to utilize all of the available visa numbers for the fiscal year (which ends on September 30th).   The Department of State and USCIS are expecting (and our office already has seen) increased activity in this category — National Visa Center (NVC) case processing and I-485 adjustment of status activity at USCIS.    It should be noted that with the increased activity over the next few months in EB-2 India, slowdown and even retrogression are possible.

Many of our clients and readers who are not EB-2 India or FB-2A would be disappointed by the lack of movement in the other employment-based categories.   EB-2 China and EB-3 remain unchanged.   The Department of State had indicated (and we reported) that EB-3 ROW and China would not move forward for the remainder of the fiscal year; but we are surprised to see that EB-2 China and EB-3 India also did not move this month.    It is possible that the Department of State would make final adjustments in these categories for the last Visa Bulletin next month; although we do not expect major (if any) developments for EB-3.

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 FB-2A all countries.   Those applicants whose priority dates are current as of the August 2013 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.