February 2015 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India Advances Significantly; EB-3 Continues to Advance Significantly

The U.S. State Department has just released the February 2015 Visa Bulletin which is the fifth Visa Bulletin for the FY2015 fiscal year.   The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the significant (and somewhat unexpected) forward movement in EB-2 India and the continued forward movement in the EB-3 preference category.   Also, EB-2 India is expected to move forward significantly in each of the next few months.

Summary of the February 2015 Visa Bulletin – Employment-Based (EB)

Below is a summary of the February 2015 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 moves forward significantly (and finally!) by six and a half (6.5) months to September 1, 2005.  EB-2 China moves forward by one and a half (1.5) months to March 15, 2010.
• EB-3 ROW, Mexico and Philippines advance by seven (7) months to January 1, 2014.   EB-3 China advances by six (6) months to September 1, 2011 while EB-3 India  advances by only one (1) week to December 22, 2003.
• The “other worker” categories for ROW, Mexico and Philippines advance by seven (7) months to January 1, 2014.   EB-3 China moves forward by three (3) weeks to August 15, 2005 while EB-3 India  advances by one (1) week to December 22, 2003.

Summary of the February 2015 Visa Bulletin – Family-Based (FB)

Below is a summary of the February 2015 Visa Bulletin with respect to some family-based categories:

• FB-1 ROW, China and India all move forward by two (2) weeks to July 22, 2007.   FB-1 Mexico moves forward by two (2) weeks to October 1, 1994 and FB-1 Philippines moves forward by two (2) weeks to January 8, 2005.
• FB-2A moves forward again  – it moves forward by three (3) weeks to May 8, 2013 for ROW, China, India and Philippines.  It also moves forward by two (2) months to April 22, 2013  for Mexico.

Surprising EB-2 India Significant Forward Movement

The expectations set over the last few months by the State Department had been that EB-2 India would likely remain unchanged at the (severely retrogressed) February 15, 2005 date until the summer of 2015.    Fortunately, the February 2015 Visa Bulletin brings great news for EB-2 India applicants with the six-and-a-half month forward movement.   EB-2 India applicants with a priority date earlier than September 1, 2005 can now move forward (or expect news, hopefully approval) with their applications.

Additionally, the anticipated cutoff date movements for the next months suggest that EB-2 India will continue to move forward at a great pace (four to six months per Visa Bulletin) over the next few months.

EB-3 Continues to Move Forward Significantly

Another very notable and important development in the February 2015 Visa Bulletin is the continued notable forward movement in the EB-3 categories.    Most of the EB-3 categories have advanced by seven months, with EB-3 China moving forward by six months, on top of the significant forward movement in the past few visa bulletins. This should be welcome news to many EB-3 applicants (except EB-3 India where the forward movement is only of one week) who may be eligible for I-485 filings or processing of their immigrant visas at the U.S. Consulates abroad.    We are happy to provide a free quote for preparing and filing your I-485 application to those EB-2 India and EB-3 applicants (and other) who are seeing an advancing and current (or soon to be current) priority date.

Short-term Expectations and Predictions for Cutoff Date Movements

The February 2015 Visa Bulletin also provides some predictions on the movement of the cutoff dates for the next few months.  Note that these figures reflect monthly potential movement.

EB-1.   This category is expected to remain current throughout the rest of the fiscal year.

EB-2 Rest of World (ROW).  This category is expected to remain current throughout the fiscal year.

EB-2 India.   This category is expected to move by four to six months per visa bulletin.

EB-2 China.   Three to six weeks forward movement per month.

EB-3 Rest of World (ROW).     Rapid forward movement is expected for the next month or two.   Such rapid movement can be expected to generate a significant amount of new demand, with the impact not being felt for three to five months. Therefore, the cut-off date will be held until it can be determined what level of demand is to be expected, and whether it is likely to be sustained.

EB-3 China.  Similar to EB-3 ROW – rapid forward movement expected, with a corrective “action” (retrogression) possible in the next six month or so.

EB-3 India.  Up to three weeks at a time.

EB-3 Mexico.  Likely to remain the same as EB-3 ROW.

EB-3 Philippines.   Likely to remain the same as EB-3 ROW.

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 February 2015 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 February 2015 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.