EB3 "Other Worker" Category May Retrogress
Posted Feb 04, 2005
In the February 2005 Visa Bulletin, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) has indicated that the EB3, Other / Essential Worker category (EW) is likely to retrogress for all countries in March 2005. The EW category is for positions that require less than two years of training or experience. This is, essentially, unskilled and semi-skilled positions. It is not to be confused with the EB3 category for professionals and skilled workers.
As regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers know, the EB3 category for professionals / skilled workers from India, mainland China, and the Philippines retrogressed in January 2005. This is the subject of our December 10, 2004 NewsFlash, Employment Visa Numbers Retrogress, available on MurthyDotCom. The difference with the EW cases is that this category may retrogress for all countries of chargeability, not only the three countries that were affected by the EB3 retrogression in January 2005.
Once the numbers retrogress, it is unclear whether they will move forward significantly, or at all, sometime in the near future. Those affected by retrogression may want to spend time gathering certain required documents for the I-485 or consular processing stage as soon as the I-140 immigrant petition is approved, in order to avoid filing delays once the visa dates become current. Such documents include, but are not limited to, proof of birth, proof of marriage, and proof of legal status while in the United States or proof of 245(i) eligibility. The retrogression is, in part, the result of increased demand for the visa numbers due to USCIS backlog reduction efforts.
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