santipawar
Registered Users (C)
In the February 2008 Visa Bulletin, released late yesterday, the Department of State (DOS) announced that the second employment-based permanent residence (EB-2) category for India has become immediately unavailable due to extremely high demand in the past several months. Effective immediately, foreign nationals in the EB-2 category for India will be unable to file applications for adjustment of status or immigrant visas. Similarly, the government will no longer be able to approve any pending adjustment applications or immigrant visa cases in the EB-2 category for India. The State Department is projecting that the India EB-2 category will remain unavailable throughout the fiscal year, which ends on September 30, 2008.
Despite the unavailability of immigrant visas for the India EB-2 subcategory, other employment-based categories were not negatively affected in the February bulletin. Immigrant visas will continue to be immediately available in the EB-2 category for all other countries except China, which remains subject to waits. The employment-based third-preference (EB-3) category will continue to be subject to waiting periods for all countries, though waits will decrease very slightly for all countries except Mexico. Immigrant visas will remain immediately available for all countries in the first employment-based (EB-1) preference category.
Though the State Department has made no additional projections of visa availability beyond February, the unavailability of the EB-2 category for India is likely to cause increased demand for the EB-3 category for India in the coming months, with longer waiting periods and future unavailability possible.
The Visa Bulletin is DOS's forecast of green card availability for the coming month. Each month, the State Department sets a cut-off date for each immigrant visa category. A foreign national whose priority date (his or her place in line) is earlier than the cut-off date for a particular category is eligible to apply for adjustment of status or for an immigrant visa. If the State Department designates a category as "current," any foreign national eligible for the category may apply for adjustment or an immigrant visa. If a category is designated as "unavailable," the annual quota of immigrant visas has been met and immigrant visas are no longer available in that category.
For February 2008, the cut-off dates for the first three employment-based preference categories are as follows:
EB-1: Current for all countries.
EB-2: January 1, 2003 (China); all other countries current except India, which is unavailable.
EB-3 Skilled Workers and Professionals: November 15, 2001 (China); May 8, 2001 (India); April 22, 2001 (Mexico); November 1, 2002 (all other countries)
EB-3 Other Workers: October 1, 2001 (all countries).
Despite the unavailability of immigrant visas for the India EB-2 subcategory, other employment-based categories were not negatively affected in the February bulletin. Immigrant visas will continue to be immediately available in the EB-2 category for all other countries except China, which remains subject to waits. The employment-based third-preference (EB-3) category will continue to be subject to waiting periods for all countries, though waits will decrease very slightly for all countries except Mexico. Immigrant visas will remain immediately available for all countries in the first employment-based (EB-1) preference category.
Though the State Department has made no additional projections of visa availability beyond February, the unavailability of the EB-2 category for India is likely to cause increased demand for the EB-3 category for India in the coming months, with longer waiting periods and future unavailability possible.
The Visa Bulletin is DOS's forecast of green card availability for the coming month. Each month, the State Department sets a cut-off date for each immigrant visa category. A foreign national whose priority date (his or her place in line) is earlier than the cut-off date for a particular category is eligible to apply for adjustment of status or for an immigrant visa. If the State Department designates a category as "current," any foreign national eligible for the category may apply for adjustment or an immigrant visa. If a category is designated as "unavailable," the annual quota of immigrant visas has been met and immigrant visas are no longer available in that category.
For February 2008, the cut-off dates for the first three employment-based preference categories are as follows:
EB-1: Current for all countries.
EB-2: January 1, 2003 (China); all other countries current except India, which is unavailable.
EB-3 Skilled Workers and Professionals: November 15, 2001 (China); May 8, 2001 (India); April 22, 2001 (Mexico); November 1, 2002 (all other countries)
EB-3 Other Workers: October 1, 2001 (all countries).