August 2014 Visa Bulletin Commentary

The August 2014 visa bulletinwas released today. Here is what my readers are looking for:

For all countries except India, China, Philippines, and Mexico:Nomovement inF2A category leavingpriority date at 1May 2012, F2B preference advanced 60 days with PD at 1 July 2007; F4 category advanced 8 days to PD at 1 January 200s; EB2 is currentand, andEB3 sees no movement leaving to PD at 1 April 2011.

For India only: No movement inF2A category leaving priority date at 1May 2012, F2B preference advanced 60 days with PD at 1 July 2007; F4 category advanced 8 days to PD at 1 January 2002; EB India sees a 4 months and 21 days jump forwardtaking PD to 22 January 2009and EB3 sees some forward movement of 7 days taking us to priority date 8 November 2003.

With the jump forward for EB3 India, it is important for those who are eligible to prepare filing your I-485 package as soon as possible. Please note you cannot file until August 1st and while the priority date remains current for you. Good luck to those who can file!

We will report on the September 2014 visa bulletin when it is released. See below for future cut off dates information:

D.VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE COMING MONTHS

The China-mainland born Employment Third and Third Other Workers cut-off dates have advanced for the month of August, and could do so again for September. There are two reasons for this advance after the retrogression of the cut-off date earlier this summer: 1) The heavy demand by applicants with priority dates significantly (years) earlier than the previous cut-off date has declined during the past two months, and 2) declining number use in the Family preferences during May and June, combined with updated estimates of such number use through the end of the fiscal year, has resulted in availability of several hundred numbers for use in the China-mainland born Employment Third preference.

During the past two months, the India Employment Second preference cut-off date has advanced very rapidly based on the projected availability of “otherwise unused” numbers under the worldwide preference limit. It must not be assumed that this cut-off date will continue to advance at the same pace during the coming months. A cut-off date does not mean that everyone with a priority date before such cut-off date has already been processed to conclusion. It remains to be seen how heavy the demand for visa numbers by applicants will be in the coming months, and what the priority dates of such applicants may be.Heavy demand by applicants with priority dates significantly earlier than the established cut-off date is expected to materialize within the next several months, at which time the cut-off date is likely to retrogress significantly.

About Author

Tahmina Watson is an immigration attorney and founder of Watson Immigration Law in Seattle Washington. She was a practicing barrister in London, UK, before immigrating to the United States herself. While her practice includes family-based and employment-based immigration, she has a strong focus on immigrant entrepreneurs and start-up companies. She can be contacted at tahmina@watsonimmigrationlaw.com. You can visit www.watsonimmigrationlaw.com to learn about Tahmina and her practice.

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