DOS Confirms Lack of Enough EB2 India / China Visa Numbers

The Department of State (DOS) provided the Murthy Law Firm with confirmation today that, effective March 23, 2012, the EB2 cutoff date has been retrogressed internally to August 15, 2007. This means that the USCIS will not be able to approve further EB2 I-485 cases with priority dates that fall on or after August 15, 2007 at this time. These cases can be processed, but not approved, without visa numbers available.

Filing in April Expected to Continue

The April Visa Bulletin reflects an EB2 cutoff date of May 1, 2010. This cutoff date applies to I-485 application filings. Based upon the events of the summer of 2007, when the DOS unsuccessfully attempted to modify the Visa Bulletin after issuance, it is our current understanding that cases will be accepted for filing under the April Visa Bulletin. What has changed is that there are simply not enough visa numbers left to allow for the approval of EB2 India / China cases with priority dates that are on or after August 15, 2007. Thus, EB2 I-485 cases, which have been filed or which will be filed in April 2012, will have to wait for approval until additional visa numbers become available. We will continue to provide information on this key issue for MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers.

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