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March 2017 Visa Bulletin Shows Moderate Advancement for EB-3 China and the Philippines

14 Feb

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) published the Monthly Visa Bulletin for March 2017, showing minor advancement in the EB-2 preference category for nationals of China and India. The EB-3 category shows no advancement for applicants born in India, moderate advancement in the “final action cut-off date” for EB-3 applicants born in China and the Philippines, and only slight advancement for the remainder of the EB-3 and Other Workers category, Visa availability under the EB-5 immigrant investor category remains current for all areas except China, which has a final action date that advanced two weeks to May 1, 2014, and a filing date of June 15, 2014.

In October 2015, the DOS began including two (2) separate cut-off dates under backlogged employment-based preference categories. The “filing cut-off date” represents the deadline for filing new Applications to Adjust Status to Permanent Resident (Green Card) with the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). The “final action cut-off date” represents the cut-off date for approval of pending applications. As Foster noted in January, February, and now in March, the filing cut-off dates remain unchanged from the December Visa Bulletin.

Communicate with Foster Now to Proceed with New Applications

Applicants who will become eligible to file applications beginning March 1, 2017, to should contact their Foster immigration attorney now to initiate the preparation and filing of an I-485 Application to Adjust Status. By initiating these new applications now, applicants may be in a position to file their applications as soon as eligible on March 1st.

As always, Foster will continue to monitor immigrant visa availability and the procedures that allow for filing Applications to Adjust Status to Lawful Permanent Resident and will provide additional information in future Immigration Updates© and on our firm’s website at www.fosterglobal.com.