March 2014 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India Unchanged; EB-3 ROW, China and Mexico Advance Again; No Movement in FB-2A; FB-2A Mexico Retrogression

The U.S. State Department has just released the March 2014 Visa Bulletin which is the sixth Visa Bulletin for the FY2014 fiscal year.   The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the expected lack of movement in EB-2 India, the continued forward  movement in EB-3 ROW, China and Mexico, the fact that FB-2A remains unchanged with a (relatively) recent cutoff date, and the significant 18-month retrogression for FB-2A Mexico.

Summary of the March 2014 Visa Bulletin – Employment-Based (EB)

Below is a summary of the March 2014 Visa Bulletin with respect to the employment-based categories:

• EB-1 remains current across the board.
• EB-2 for ROW, Mexico and Philippines are all current.    EB-2 India remains unchanged at November 15, 2004 and is expected to remain at this level for some more time (with possible forward movement later in the fiscal year).  EB-2 China moves forward by five (5) weeks to February 15, 2009.
• EB-3 ROW, China and Mexico move forward by three (3) months to September 1, 2012.  EB-3 Philippines moves forward by two (2) weeks to May 1, 2007, while EB-3 India  moves forward (finally!) by two (2) weeks to September 15, 2003.
• The “other worker” moves forward by three (3) months to September 1, 2012 for ROW, China and Mexico.  It moves forward by two (2) weeks to May 1, 2007 for Philippines and moves forward by two (2) weeks to September 15, 2003 for India.

Summary of the March 2014 Visa Bulletin – Family-Based (FB)

Below is a summary of the March 2014 Visa Bulletin with respect to family-based categories:

• FB-1 ROW, China and India all move forward by one (1) month to February 1, 2007.   FB-1 Mexico moves forward by two (2) weeks to October 15, 1993 and FB-1 Philippines remains unchanged at August 15, 2001.
• FB-2A remains unchanged (again) for all ROW, China, India and Philippines at September 8, 2013.  It retrogresses for Mexico by moving back almost 18 months to April 15, 2012.
• FB-2B ROW, China and India all move forward by seven (7) weeks to September 1, 2006.  FB-2B Mexico remains unchanged at May 1, 1993 while FB-2B Philippines moves forward by two (2) weeks to June 8, 2003.

EB-2 India Remains Unchanged; EB-3 India Barely Moves Forward

Unfortunately, no news for EB-2 India means continued disappointment in the lack of movement in this category.  In the fall of 2013, we reported on the expected retrogression in the EB India categories due to high demand and the December 2013 Visa Bulletin, together with the subsequent three Visa Bulletins, confirm our predictions.    The last few Visa Bulletins showed that our expectations were absolutely correct even though many of our EB India clients and readers were disappointed by this news.    Unfortunately, since EB-2 India remains severely retrogressed, we expect that there would be no forward movement for at least several months (perhaps until Summer 2014).   The rationale behind this severe retrogression (in December 2013) and the lack of movement for the next several months in EB-2 India is that there is simply too much “demand” (number of pending cases caused by I-485 filings and EB-3 to EB-2 porting cases, plus adding dependents) in this category and the Visa Office has to “stop” the rate of new filings by moving back the cutoff date until USCIS and DOS are able to approve the pending cases and “clear” the demand.

EB-3 ROW, China and Mexico Move Forward Again

In contrast to EB India, we note that the EB-3 ROW, China and Mexico categories continue to move forward (again) and with a good pace.   Last month the forward movement in this category was two months, following a six-month forward movement in the January 2014 Visa Bulletin.   This is another significant movement and would help many EB-3 applicants who are waiting for a visa number to either file their I-485 adjustment of status applications or process their immigrant visa at the U.S. Consulate abroad.   Overall, the EB-3 ROW, China and Mexico categories have advanced by almost one year over the past three months.

EB-3 China Continues to be Ahead of EB-2 China

Over the past couple of months or so, our office has handled many inquiries from Chinese nationals who are EB-2 applicants and who try to find out whether it makes sense to refile under EB-3 to take advantage of the unique situation where the cutoff date for EB-3 China (September 1, 2012) is more advanced than the date for EB-2 China (February 15, 2009).

In some cases,  an EB-2 China applicant can seek to “downgrade” their preference category, while retaining their priority date, in order to have a current priority date under the EB-3 category and to be able to file their I-485 application.   As a background, many EB-2 PERM Labor Certifications are drafted in a way allowing the subsequent filing of an EB-3 I-140 petition on the basis of the same PERM — thereby retaining the priority date under the EB-3 category.    While it is possible to use a PERM which has already expired if it has been used in support of a previous I-140, a new EB-3 I-140 filing may not be filed under premium processing.  Filing an I-140 under regular processing may take around four to five months and it is entirely possible that by the time an EB-3 I-140 is approved, the EB-3 China cutoff dates may retrogress.

We also caution our clients and readers, especially the China employment-based applicants, that the historic average for an EB-3 China priority date to become current and for a green card under this category to be approved is still significantly higher than the historic average wait time under EB-2.   As a result, even if it is possible that an EB-3 “downgrade” may allow the I-485 filing, we still believe that ultimately, an EB-2 China application would take less time to approve.

Our office is happy to consult applicants who are in this situation and are considering filing under EB-3 to take advantage of the more advanced EB-3 China cutoff dates.   Please contact us if we can help.

FB-2A Remains Unchanged; FB2A Mexico Retrogresses Significantly

Another notable development (or lack thereof) is the fact that FB-2A cutoff date remains unchanged, after the introduction of a cutoff date in the October 2013 Visa Bulletin.   We expected the October 2013 FB-2A cutoff date to be introduced and the fact that it remains unchanged is not surprising since it appears that USCIS and the Department of State have seen increased number of filings in this category.   Also not entirely unexpected is the retrogression in FB-2A for Mexican nationals — the Department of State has been cautioning that they see significant demand in this category and a retrogression would be forthcoming.

We urge those FB-2A Mexico nationals who are current now and who would not be current as of March 1 to consider filing their I-485 application as soon as possible to take advantage of this (rare) opportunity to file I-485 and obtain work and travel authorization documents for as long as the I-485 remains pending.    Please contact us if we can help.

Current Priority Date?

Our office stands ready to assist in the applicable process to take advantage of a current (or close to current) priority date.   Those applicants whose priority dates are current as of the March 2014 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.

Visa Bulletin Predictions – Employment-Based

The March 2014 Visa Bulletin also provides a general estimate on the movement of the cutoff dates over the next months.

EB-1.   This category is expected to remain current.

EB-2 ROW.  This category is expected to remain current.

EB-2 China.  This category is expected to continue to move forward by approximately 3-5 weeks per month in each Visa Bulletin.

EB-2 India.  No forward movement expected.

EB-3 ROW.    After the last few months’  significant forward movement, as demand (number of filings) increases, the forward movement may stop or the dates may even retrogress.   .

EB-3 China.  Expected to track the worldwide (ROW) date.

EB-3 India.  “Little or no” forward movement expected.

EB-3 Philippines.  Expected to keep moving forward by three to six weeks per month.

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 2014 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