July 2014 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India Moves Forward by Four Years; FB-2A Remains Unchanged

The U.S. State Department has just released the July 2014 Visa Bulletin which is the tenth Visa Bulletin for the FY2014 fiscal year.   The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the significant (four years) forward movement in EB-2 India and the lack of any movement in FB-2A.

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

Below is a summary of the July 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 advances significantly by almost four (4) years to September 1, 2008.  EB-2 China moves forward by five (5) weeks to July 1, 2009.
• EB-3 ROW, China and Mexico remain unchanged.  EB-3 ROW and Mexico are at April 1, 2011 while EB-3 China remains unchanged at October 1, 2006.   EB-3 Philippines advances by one (1) year to January 1, 2009, while EB-3 India  moves forward by only two (2) weeks to November 1, 2003.
• The “other worker” categories for ROW, China and Mexico also remain unchanged.  ROW and Mexico are at April 1, 2011 while China remains unchanged at January 1, 2003.    Philippines advances by one (1) year to January 1, 2009, while India  moves forward by only two (2) weeks to November 1, 2003.

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

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

• FB-1 ROW, China and India all move forward by one (1) week to April 1, 2007.   FB-1 Mexico moves forward by six (6) weeks to February 1, 1994 and FB-1 Philippines moves forward by six (6) months to January 1, 2003.
• FB-2A remains unchanged for all (after a significant retrogression last month) – it remains at May 1, 2012 for ROW, China, India and Philippines.  It remains at March 15, 2011 for Mexico.

EB-2 India Significant Forward Movement

Finally, this month’s Visa Bulletin brings some welcome (and somewhat expected) news for EB-2 India applicants.     Over the past few months there has been increasing buildup in the amount of applications waiting for a movement in the EB-2 India category and our office has expected some movement to occur towards the end of the fiscal year.     The four-year forward movement in EB-2 India is done to allow the government to process a number of pending I-485 applications in order to utilize all of the available visa numbers for the fiscal year (to end on September 30).    We expect approvals on many I-485 cases (which have cleared their RFEs, for some, due to medical exam expiration).

Since many EB-2 India applicants have also ported their EB-3 priority date into EB-2, there will be a significant number of EB-2 India nationals who would have their newly-ported EB-2 priority date become current and who would be eligible to file I-485 adjustment of status applications (together with eligible family members).

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 July 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 (very time-sensitive for some) opportunity to file I-485 applications.    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 July 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.