Our office has been able to confirm what we have suspected for a few weeks. Many of our readers are aware that the significant forward movement in the cutoff dates for the EB-2 India and China categories over the past few months has caused a significant number of demand and I-485 filings. USCIS has been [...]
We have written extensively over the past few weeks about the upcoming retrogression in the EB-2 India and China categories. So, it should not come as a surprise that the Department of State has confirmed what we have anticipated and expected for a couple of weeks -- namely, that the Department of State has "internally" [...]
Only a day after we published our own predictions for the outlook of EB-2 India and China cutoff dates over the next few months, Mr. Charles Oppenheim, the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the U.S. Department of State and also known as the person responsible for the Visa Bulletin cutoff dates [...]
Our office has actively monitored the Visa Bulletin developments for the past several months, not only by analyzing each Visa Bulletin but also by seeking input from other sources such as demand data, economy and unemployment and, most importantly, by consulting with Mr. Charles Oppenheim (Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the [...]
Mr. Oppenheim is the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the U.S. Department of State. For many, he is simply known as the person responsible for the monthly and annual visa number allocations for family- and employment-based green cards. He is also the person who prepares and publishes the monthly visa bulletin [...]
Many of our clients and readers are familiar with the requirement to submit to biometrics (digital fingerprinting and/or photograph, please see below) in connection with certain USCIS applications. The biometrics are often taken at USCIS Application Support Centers (ASC) after a notice, showing a specific ASC address and appointment date/time, is issued and mailed to [...]
The U.S. State Department just released the January 2012 Visa Bulletin which is the fourth Visa Bulletin for the FY2012 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s bulletin is the significant forward movement in EB-2 India and China (by nine and a half months) and the continued forward movement in FB1. Summary of [...]
The U.S. State Department just released the December 2011 Visa Bulletin which is the third Visa Bulletin for the FY2012 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s bulletin is the significant forward movement in EB-2 India and China (four and a half months) and the continued forward movement in FB1. Summary of the [...]
The Department of State ("DOS"), in an "urgent" alert dated as of September 15, 2011, has advised that due to heavy demand in the employment-based immigrant visa categories, DOS has reached the Fiscal Year 2011 annual limit of employment-based green cards. DOS/USCIS to Stop Approving EB Immigrant Visas Until October 1 As a result of [...]
A recent update from USCIS and Charles Oppenheim at the Department of State (the person who is responsible for the Visa Bulletin and visa number allocations) should provide some hope to applicants in some categories, but most notably to the EB-2 India category. Low EB-1 Demand to Cause Visa Number Spillover to EB-2 USCIS has [...]