Visa Bulletin Employment-Based Numbers : September 2006
Posted Aug 18, 2006
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The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the September 2006 Visa Bulletin, reflecting changes in certain employment-based (EB) categories: EB1 for nationals of India and EB3 for those charged to China, the Philippines, and the worldwide quota. The rest of the categories for September's employment-based Visa Bulletin chart remain unchanged. [The most recent Visa Bulletin charts for employment- and family-based categories is always available on MurthyDotCom.]
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EB1
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EB1 is "current" for nationals of India in the month of September. EB1 previously had a cutoff date for those charged to India. With this change, all of EB1 is current as of September 1, 2006. This means that there are enough visa numbers for all EB1 cases, regardless of priority date, and that an individual in the EB1 category may file an I-485 application, if s/he is in the U.S. Along with this, one may file the EAD to be able to work in the U.S. and the Advance Parole to travel abroad and reenter the U.S.
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EB2
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There are no changes in EB2 for September 2006. As announced last month, EB2 for Indian nationals is completely "unavailable." This is expected to continue until October 2006, when new visa numbers will be released under the new quota at the start of the fiscal year. All other areas of chargeability, with the exception of China, are current in EB2. China continues to have a cutoff date of March 1, 2005.
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EB3
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There is some forward movement in EB3 for all areas of chargeability except Mexico, which remains at April 22, 2001. India moves forward to April 15, 2001. China, the Philippines, and the worldwide category move forward by five months to March 1, 2002. This forward movement is an effort by the DOS toward full utilization of the remaining numbers for the 2006 fiscal year.
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What Can We Expect in the Future?
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The Visa Bulletin contains predictions for EB3. The DOS notes that the rapid advancement of EB3 (for the areas listed above) is not likely to continue. They expect high demand for visa numbers in the near future, in part due to the Department of Labor backlog reduction efforts. If the DOL meets its stated timeframes, tens of thousands of labor certifications will be approved during Fiscal Year 2007 (FY2007). Since many of these cases have priority dates that are quite old, according to the Visa Bulletin, this could generate further retrogression of EB3 dates in FY2007. We note that the backlog also includes EB2 cases. Thus, the demand for EB2 visa numbers is likely to remain at a high level as well, especially for China and India.
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As reported to MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers last month, the special allocation of 50,000 visa numbers for Schedule A is close to its limit. No update was provided on this topic in the Visa Bulletin and no cutoff date was established. This could change next month, in October 2006. Since this was a one-time allocation, there will not be more specifically allocated visa numbers for Schedule A in FY2007.
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Recommendations
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Nationals of India in EB1 who are eligible to file their I-485s, Applications for Adjustment of Status, as of September 2006, should carefully consider doing so during the month of September 2006. The same holds true, perhaps even more urgently, for those in EB3 whose priority dates will become available in September 2006. The demand in EB3 will increase in the future. We note that the demand in EB1 is not impacted by the DOL backlog center. Individuals who otherwise would have utilized the EB2 NIW category or even EB2 labor certification, however, are exploring the possibility of EB1 extraordinary ability or outstanding professor / researcher, if that is an option. Thus, it is important to track the Visa Bulletin each month and make decisions to file when it becomes possible to do so. We at the Murthy Law Firm are pleased to share this information as our readers monitor the priority dates and the movement of numbers, planning the time for their green card processing.