This week, in his monthly "check-in" with stakeholders, Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, U.S. Department of State ("DOS"), provided some insights on immigrant visa availability for August and September 2016, the last two months of the immigration fiscal year. D&S has provided a summary of the relevant employment-based predictions below:
EB-2 and EB-3 China. In June, the final action date for both EB-2 and EB-3 China retrogressed to January 1, 2010. DOS does not anticipate that there will be no forward movement in either of these categories for the remainder of this fiscal year.
EB-2 Worldwide and India. DOS predicts a cut-off date for EB-2 Worldwide by September due to sustained high demand. DOS also predicts that EB-2 India’s final action date will be one week ahead of EB-3 India through the rest of the fiscal year. Based on current usage, there should be sufficient available unused EB-3 numbers worldwide to enable moderate forward movement in EB-3 India in the month of September.
Cutoff Date for EB-1 China and India Expected by End of Fiscal Year. Due to high demand in recent months, DOS predicts a cut-off date will be imposed for EB-1 China and EB-1 India this fiscal year in either August or September. Both categories are expected to become current again in October, so the retrogression will be brief. A cut-off date will not be imposed for EB-1 Worldwide this fiscal year.
D&S will continue to monitor this developing situation and provide updates as they become available.