Overview of April 2016 Visa Bulletin

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) April 2016 Visa Bulletin is now available. The backlogged employment-based, second preference (EB2) and employment-based, third-preference (EB3) categories for India and China have minimal advancement in the final action (FA) charts. There is no movement in the dates for filing (DF) charts. Further, as of the time of this writing, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not indicated whether the DF charts may be used as a basis to filing an adjustment-of-status application (form I-485) in April.

Visa Bulletin Summary

Employment-Based, First and Fourth Preferences (EB1 and EB4)

The EB1 and EB4 categories continue to be current. The DOS previously predicted that EB1 would remain current in upcoming months. EB4 is also expected to remain current in the near future for most countries of chargeability.

Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2)

As expected, EB2 is current for all countries other than India and China. India’s EB2 FA cutoff date advances by only a few weeks, to November 8, 2008. China’s FA EB2 cutoff date progresses by one month, to September 1, 2012.

The EB2 movements for India and China were less than hoped for, based upon DOS predications given in March. This presumably means that demand has been even higher than anticipated.

Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3)

The EB3 worldwide category FA cutoff date advances to February 15, 2016. The same applies to EB3 Mexico. EB3 for India advances by only a few weeks, to August 8, 2004. The EB3 cutoff date for China moves ahead by just over one month, to August 15, 2013. The EB3 Philippines FA cutoff date also advances by more than a month, to May 1, 2008.

Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3) Other Workers

The EB3 other workers FA cutoff dates continue to match the general EB3 cutoff dates. The exception to this is China, which advances by a month to March 1, 2007.

Employment-Based, Fifth Preference (EB5)

The EB5 category stays current, except for China. This is not surprising, as most EB5 investors are chargeable to China. China’s FA cutoff date is February 1, 2014.

Conclusion

The limited movement in the oversubscribed categories continues to be a source of frustration for many. The updated USCIS inventory charts of pending I-485 cases illustrate the reasons for backlogs and slow cutoff date movement.

Copyright © 2016, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved