April 2015 Visa Bulletin – EB2 India Advances to Sep 2007

As announced last week on MurthyDotCom, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) visa bulletin for April 2015 is available. The employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India and China continues to advance. As predicted, however, the news is far less encouraging for the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category.

Employment-Based, First, Fourth, and Fifth Preferences (EB1, EB4, and EB5)

These categories remain current throughout for all countries of chargeability. The DOS expects to establish a cutoff date for the EB5 category no later than June 2015.

Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2)

The EB2 category remains current, as expected, for all countries except India and China. EB2 India’s advancement is a continuation of the trend that began in February 2015. The new cutoff date for April 2015 is September 1, 2007, an advancement of eight months. The EB2 China cutoff date experiences a seven-month jump forward, to a new cutoff date of April 1, 2011.

Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3)

The EB3 worldwide category continues to have an extremely favorable cutoff date. This category advances by four months, to October 1, 2014. Mexico and the Philippines also share the October 1, 2014 cutoff date. The highly backlogged EB3 category for India advances by only a week, to January 8, 2004. Meanwhile, the cutoff date for EB3 China experiences retrogression of nine months, to a cutoff date of January 1, 2011.

EB3 Other Workers

As has been the case in the recent past, the EB3 other workers cutoff dates match those in the general EB3 category, with the exception of China. For China, the cutoff date remains stagnant, at August 15, 2005.

Conclusion

The EB2 India advancement in the April 2015 Visa Bulletin is consistent with earlier predictions. This advancement is in preparation for the anticipated availability of additional immigrant visa numbers by September 30, 2015, which is the last day of the fiscal year. Further advancement is expected, but no additional predictions were shared in the latest visa bulletin. The retrogression of EB3 China is the result of additional demand, in part generated by EB2 “downgrade” requests during the months when the cutoff date for EB2 China was less favorable than EB3. The DOS did not provide any additional predictions in this latest visa bulletin. MurthyDotCom will post additional details and updates as soon as any new information is provided.

 

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Disclaimer: The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any specific or particular circumstance. It is not to be construed as legal advice nor presumed indefinitely up to date.