April 2015 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India and China Continue to Advance Notably; EB-3 China Significant Retrogression

The U.S. State Department has just released the April 2015 Visa Bulletin which is the seventh Visa Bulletin for the FY2015 fiscal year.   The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the significant eight-month forward movement in EB-2 India and the seven-month forward movement in EB-2 China.    EB-3 also moves forward nicely with the notable exception of EB-3 China which goes back by 9 months.

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

Below is a summary of the April 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 by eight (8) months to September 1, 2007.  EB-2 China moves forward by seven (7) months to April 1, 2011.
• EB-3 ROW, Mexico and Philippines advance by four (4) months to October 1, 2014.   EB-3 China retrogresses by about nine (9) months back to January 1, 2011 (from October 22, 2011) while EB-3 India  advances by only one (1) week to January 8, 2004.
• The “other worker” categories for ROW, Mexico and Philippines advance by four  (4) months to October 1, 2014.   EB-3 China remains unchanged at August 15, 2005 while EB-3 India  advances by one (1) week to January 8, 2004.

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

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

• FB-1 ROW, China and India all remain unchanged at August 1, 2007.   FB-1 Mexico moves forward by one (1) week to November 1, 1994 while FB-1 Philippines remains unchanged at February 1, 2005.
• FB-2A moves forward again, but by not as much – it moves forward by five (5) weeks to August 1, 2013 for ROW, China, India and Philippines.  It also moves forward by six (6) weeks to July 8, 2013  for Mexico.

Another EB-2 India Significant Forward Movement But By Not as Much as Last Month

This month’s Visa Bulletin brings another significant forward movement in EB-2 India of eight months; however, it is not as significant as the forward movement in last month (April) visa bulletin (of sixteen months).  Overall, however, EB-2 India has advanced by two years over the last two months so this is certain a good sign.       EB-2 India applicants with a priority date earlier than September 1, 2007 can now move forward (or expect news, hopefully approval) with their applications.

The Department of State had indicated that EB-2 India may move forward by four to six months per Visa Bulletin over the next few months so we expect the forward movement in EB-2 India over the next few months to be similarly moderate.

EB-2 China Advances while EB-3 China Retrogresses Significantly

While EB-2 China advances nicely by seven months in this Visa Bulletin, EB-3 China moves back by almost ten months to January 1, 2011.   This retrogression is caused by the high number of EB-3 China filings over the last weeks and months, caused by the rapid advancement in the EB-3 China date over the recent months.    We had noted in our earlier Visa Bulletin alerts that the demand in EB-3 China is expected to rise with the forward date movement and it now seems that the Department of State “sees” sufficient demand to stop the rate of filings by moving back the cutoff date.

It is important to note that EB-3 China applicants who have a cutoff date which is current now and who would no longer be current as of April 1 to consider filing their I-485s immediately (if they are in the US) or take other steps to take advantage of the current priority date.   EB-3 China candidates who have a priority date between October 22, 2011 and January 1, 2011 will be affected — please contact us for a consultation and analysis of your personal case situation.

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 April 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 April 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.