June 2020 Visa Bulletin Check-In

Most months, Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Oppenheim is currently working from home, and therefore is unable to access certain government databases. This has hampered his ability to make updated projections. Nevertheless, he has provided a bit of insight following the release of the June 2020 Visa Bulletin.

FY20 Limit May Not Be Reached

The vast majority of family-based cases are filing for consular processing, and due to the closure of consulates across the globe, very few of these immigrant visa numbers are being used. Employment-based visa numbers are faring better, as most are processed from within the United States, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to adjudicate I-485 adjustment of status applications. Still, the USCIS has a limited capacity to process these applications, meaning there is a risk that some immigrant visa numbers for fiscal year 2020 (FY20), which ends on September 30, 2020, will go unused. Once the new fiscal year begins, any remaining FY20 visa numbers will be lost.

Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1)

There has been a decrease in demand for the EB1 rest of the world (RotW) category. This, combined with the large number of pre-adjudicated EB1 India cases, made it possible to advance the EB1 India cutoff date by more than ten months. The EB1 category is expected to remain current for all countries of nationality, other than India and China, for the rest of FY20.

Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2)

Mr. Oppenheim no longer believes it will be necessary to impose a final action date on the EB2 RotW category. However, because demand is still fairly high, it is unlikely that the EB2 category for India will see significant advancement, as seen in the EB1 India category.

Employment-Based, Fifth Preference (EB5)

Mr. Oppenheim expects that the EB5 category for India will be current within the next two months. This could allow for the cutoff date for EB5 Vietnam to advance further.

Conclusion

MurthyDotCom will continue to closely monitor and report on movement and predictions related to the monthly visa bulletin. Subscribe to the MurthyBulletin to receive future updates.

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