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Well, I don\'t really understand what you mean by "visa was available". I also don\'t understand how/why you state that they would have retrogressed the PDs after Sep. 1999. Let me explain what I have understood. The PDs are decided by the Dept. of State depending on the number of visas that we issued (the previous month????) so far in that year. Since I-485 adjuducations were practically NOT TAKING PLACE during almost all of 1999, they made the PDs current - for whatever reason. But the PDs have been pushed back once they started approving a lot of pending I-485s. They may have given a window of opportunity for people completing 6 years on their H-1B to file their I-485, but that reason has not been officially stated. And of course, once you file your I-485, you do not need to maintain your H-1B status, so the 6 year limit does not come into question. But the fact remains that the applicant\'s PD HAS TO BE CURRENT at the time of approving the I-485. If not, it will NOT BE APPROVED.
And regarding future PD movements, I doubt whether we will see huge jumps. Under the current rules, and with the number of H-1Bs entering the country over the past 3 years, the PD movement is only going to worsen, as far as I can see, UNLESS CHANGES ARE MADE TO THE EXISTING RULES.