Originally Published March 14, 2007
The United States Department of State (DOS) has released its April 2007 Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin sets out per-country priority date cut-offs that regulate the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) and consular immigrant visa applications.
What Does the April 2007 Bulletin Say?
No Movement in Third-Preference Cut-Off Dates
For April 2007, the relevant cut-off dates for the EB3 category remain as follows:
|
China: |
August 1, 2002 |
(no movement) |
|
India: |
May 8, 2001 |
(no movement) |
|
Mexico: |
May 15, 2001 |
(no movement) |
|
Philippines: |
August 1, 2002 |
(no movement) |
|
Rest of the World: |
August 1, 2002 |
(no movement) |
On April 1, 2007, foreign nationals in the EB-3 category may file adjustment of status to permanent resident applications or obtain approval of an immigrant visa application at an American embassy or consulate abroad, provided their priority dates are before the new cut-off dates specified by the DOS.
No Movement in Second-Preference Cut-Off Dates
For April 2007, the relevant cut-off dates for Indian and Chinese nationals in the EB2 category remain as follows:
|
China: |
April 22, 2005 |
(no movement) |
|
India: |
January 8, 2003 |
(no movement) |
Priority date cut-offs for nationals of all other countries in the EB-2 category remain current for April 2007.
As of April 1, 2007, cut-off dates for all foreign nationals in the EB-1 category remain current.
How This Affects You
For the third consecutive month, there is no movement in any priority date cut-offs. As noted in previous Alerts, this is likely due in part to end-of-fiscal-year 2006 filings (before September 30, 2006) and the continued approval of long-pending labor certification cases through the Department of Labor's backlog centers, which is expected to continue to increase demand and lead to a further slowdown and/or retrogression of cut-off dates in fiscal year 2007.
Priority date cut-offs are assessed on a monthly basis by the DOS based on anticipated demand. Cut-off dates can move forward, backward, or remain static. Employers and employees should take account of the immigrant visa backlogs in their long-term planning and take measures to mitigate their effects. To see the April 2007 Visa Bulletin in its entirety, please visit the U.S. Department of State website at http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3169.html.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.