May 26, 2017
Increasing Visa Backlogs for EB-1 and EB-2 China and India
Visa number pressure is increasing for EB-1 and EB-2 China and India categories. In its Visa Bulletin for June, the U.S. Department of State is imposing a January 1, 2012 final action cut-off date for first preference employment-based (EB-1) applicants from China and India. The January 1, 2012 cut-off date is likely to remain until the beginning of the new federal fiscal year on October 1, when it will likely become current again.
Similarly, the outlook is not bright for the EB-2 category. Demand for EB-2 India continues to be strong, in part due to EB-3 India upgrades. Any advance in the EB-2 India category will likely be slight over the next months. For June, the EB-2 India category moved forward by only one week.
For June, EB-2 China advances less than one month to a final action cut-off date of March 1, 2013. Progress in EB-2 China numbers is likely to be slow at least through September 30, the end of this fiscal year.