October 2016 Visa Bulletin: EB-1 India and China, EB-2 Worldwide Become Current Again; Significant Advancements for EB-2 India and China, EB-3 China

United States

According to the State Department’s October Visa Bulletin, immigrant visa availability in the EB-1 category will once again become current for China and India after several months of unprecedented backlogs.  In the EB-2 category, cutoffs for final action will advance by two years and six weeks for China, to February 15, 2012, and 23 months for India, to January 15, 2007; EB-2 will once again become current for all other countries.  EB-3 China for professional and skilled workers will advance by three years and three weeks, to January 22, 2013, with modest advancements for all other countries.

The EB-5 Regional Center program is set to expire on September 30, 2016 and thus will be unavailable in October unless it is reauthorized by Congress.  For the EB-5 non-Regional Center program, the cutoff date for China will advance by one week to February 22, 2014, while all other countries remain current.

There will be some retrogression in cutoff dates for eligibility to file an application for permanent residence for many backlogged employment categories. 

IMMIGRANT VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE COMING MONTHS

The State Department projects that employment-based immigrant visa availability will advance for many categories and countries in the coming months.

EB-2 is expected to advance by up to three months per month for China and four months per month for India, and should remain current for all other countries.

EB-3 is expected to advance by up to three months per month for China, and up to one week per month for India.  For all other countries, EB-3 demand is expected to be high, which could limit advancement in cutoff dates.

The EB-5 non-Regional Center category is expected to remain current for most countries, while slow movement is expected for China.

FINAL ACTION CUT-OFF DATES FOR OCTOBER 2016

EB-1
Current for all countries. 

EB-2
China: February 15, 2012
India: January 15, 2007
All other countries: Current

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
China: January 22, 2013
India: March 1, 2005
Philippines: December 1, 2010
All other countries: June 1, 2016

EB-3 Other Workers
China: January 1, 2005
India: March 1, 2005
Philippines: December 1, 2010
All other countries: June 1, 2016

EB-5 Non-Regional Center
China: February 22, 2014
Current for all other countries.

EB-5 Regional Center
Unavailable.

FILING ELIGIBILITY CUT-OFF DATES FOR OCTOBER 2016

EB-1
Current for all countries.

EB-2
China: March 1, 2013
India: April 22, 2009
All other countries: Current

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
China:  May 1, 2014
India: July 1, 2005
Philippines: September 1, 2013
All other countries: Current

EB-3 Other Workers
China: August 1, 2009
India: July 1, 2005
Philippines: September 1, 2013
All other countries: Current

EB-5
China: June 15, 2014
Current for all other countries and subcategories.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.

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