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August 2017 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 “All Other” Category Retrogresses

13 Jul

The U.S. Department of State has published the Monthly Visa Bulletin for August 2017, establishing a “cut-off date” of April 1, 2015, for the EB-2 “All Other” Category under the “Final Action cut off dates”.  The EB-2 category is listed as “current,” meaning no backlog in immigrant visa availability, for the current month of July.  The “All Other” category is currently comprised of all countries of birth other than China, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, and the Philippines.  Although El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are not included in the “All Other” category, the August 2017 Visa Bulletin establishes the same cut-off date of April 1, 2015, for applicants born in these countries.

Although EB-2 visa availability for applicants born in all countries other than India or China is expected to return to “current” (no backlog) beginning October 1, 2017, the establishment of a cut-off date for this category reflects the current level of demand, which is not expected to decrease for the remainder of this current fiscal year ending September 30, 2017.  Accordingly, applicants under the EB-2 category who are eligible to file Applications to Adjust Status at this time should move forward quickly to ensure their applications are filed before August 1, 2017.  Failure to file before August 1, 2017 will likely mean inability to file for the two-month period of August and September.

The August Visa Bulletin also reflects current visa availability under the EB-3 category for all countries of birth except China and India, and a five-month advance in the cut-off date for EB-3 India.  The EB-3 “Other Workers” category for applicants born in China has retrogressed more than two years to a new cut-off date of January 1, 2004.  Most other categories either did not change or advanced only slightly.

Applicants who are now eligible to file applications under the July Visa Bulletin but will be unable to file beginning August 1st should work closely with their Foster immigration attorneys to provide all required documents to ensure filing during the current month of July.  Applicants who will become eligible to file applications beginning in August should initiate their applications with their Foster attorneys at this time in order to ensure the earliest filing date possible in the month of August.  Foster will continue to monitor immigrant visa availability and will provide updates as they become available via future Immigration Updates© and via Foster’s website at www.fosterglobal.com.