September 2014 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India Again Moves Forward by Four Months; EB-3 Philippines and FB-2A Also Advance Significantly

The U.S. State Department has just released the September 2014 Visa Bulletin which is the twelfth and last Visa Bulletin for the FY2014 fiscal year.   The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the continued notable forward movement in EB-2 India and EB-3 Philippines and the lack of movement in any of the other EB categories.   Also, very notable is the significant (and long overdue) forward movement in the FB-2A category.

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

Below is a summary of the September 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 by over three (3) months to May 1, 2009.  EB-2 remains unchanged at October 8, 2009.
• EB-3 ROW and Mexico remain unchanged (again) at April 1, 2011.  EB-3 China remains unchanged at November 1, 2008 while EB-3 India  remains unchanged at November 8, 2003.   EB-3 Philippines advances by ten (10) months to April 1, 2011.
• The “other worker” categories for ROW and Mexico remain unchanged at April 1, 2011.  EB-3 China remains unchanged at July 22, 2005 while EB-3 India  remains unchanged at November 8, 2003.  EB-3 Philippines advances by ten (10) months to April 1, 2011.

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

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

• FB-1 ROW, China and India all move forward by one (1) week to May 1, 2007.   FB-1 Mexico moves forward by almost two (2) months to June 1, 1994 and FB-1 Philippines moves forward by two (2) months to August 1, 2004.
• FB-2A finally moves forward (after a period of retrogression and no movement) – it moves forward significantly by eight (8) months to January 1, 2013 for ROW, China, India and Philippines.  It also moves forward by over one (1) year to April 22, 2012 for Mexico.

EB-2 India Another Significant Forward Movement

After the significant forward movement over the last couple of months in EB-2 India, this month’s Visa Bulletin brings another welcome (and somewhat expected) piece of news for EB-2 India applicants.     Even though this month’s movement is of about four months, to May 1, 2009, it still allows many EB-2 India applicants to file their I-485 applications.     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 had expected some movement to occur towards the end of the fiscal year.     Our office has been increasingly busy with new I-485 filings (for those who are becoming current this or next month) or for handling I-485 requests for evidence (for those who had pending I-485 applications but had expired medicals).   The four-year forward movement in EB-2 India, followed by two four-month forward movements, is done by the U.S. Department of State 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 see a number of approvals and expect more 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).

In a note found in the Visa Bulletin, the Department of State warns that heavy demand (number of filings) in EB-2 India may cause this (and other) category to reach its annual limit sometime in September – when this happens, the government (USCIS and DOS) will stop approving immigrant visas and a correction in the Visa Bulletin midway through the month may be possible.    The September Visa Bulletin cautions that a retrogression in EB-2 India is likely as early as in the November Visa Bulletin.

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 September 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 September 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.