Immigrant Visa Number Update : FY2004
Posted Oct 31, 2003

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued its predictions for immigrant visa availability for fiscal year (FY) 2004 in the employment- and family-based categories. The news continues to be good for the employment-based categories, as these numbers are not expected to "retrogress," or go backward. Currently, there are sufficient visa numbers available in all employment-based (EB) categories. The DOS has predicted that family-based (FB) cases will continue to move forward at approximately the same pace as FY2003.

The availability of immigrant visa numbers in the FB and EB preference categories is reflected in the monthly priority date chart, known as the Visa Bulletin, released by the DOS and available on MurthyDotCom. The tables show whether visa numbers are available in the various categories, based on the dates when cases were first filed, namely from the time that the priority dates for the cases were established. More information about priority dates can be found in our MurthyDotCom article, Priority Dates: How Do They Work?

The only proviso for employment-based cases is that it is possible for a backlog to develop in the Employment Third Preference (EB3), Other Worker category. This is a subcategory of EB3 for unskilled and semiskilled workers and does not impact other EB3 cases. The reason for the potential backlog in this segment is that some of these cases have been pending for a long time, particularly those filed on or around April 2001. As the labor certifications and I-140 petitions in these cases are finally approved, there may be an excess demand for visa numbers. However, DOS indicated that if this does occur, it should not happen until the summer of 2004.

The continued availability of visa numbers in the EB categories is good news for many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers. This means that they will be able to file the I-485, Application for Adjustment of Status, with the I-140, Immigrant Petition, as soon as their labor certifications are approved. This was not always the case, as in past years the EB3 category was significantly backlogged, particularly for nationals of India and China. We only hope that the processing backlogs with I-485s will improve, to accommodate the volume of I-485 cases that continue to be filed. The downside is that, if I-485s are processed quickly, the EB priority dates could retrogress again in the future.