Effective August 1, 2016, the employment-based, first-preference immigrant visa (EB-1) is no longer expected to be immediately available for individuals born in India and China. Availability is predicted by the State Department to retrogress to January 1, 2010, and to not become current again until the new fiscal year begins on October 1, 2016. EB-1 will remain current and immediately available to individuals born in all other countries.
EB-1 includes:
- EB-1A – Individuals of extraordinary ability
- EB-1B – Outstanding professors and researchers
- EB-1C – Multinational executives and managers
EB-1 was created as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. This important visa category has, since its creation, generally been immediately available and without any quota backlog. Employment-based immigration in other visa categories has long been slower for immigrants born in India and China due to the large number of applications filed each year.
Although the backlog is not expected to hit until the last two months of the current fiscal year, it is reasonable to assume that, with the anticipated continued growth of immigration to the US from India and China, it will only worsen in fiscal year 2017. While it is difficult to predict how quickly the wait list will grow, to avoid what may become very lengthy processing delays, your best strategy for securing an early priority date is to file your EB-1 immigrant visa petition as soon as possible.
The EB-2 (for professionals with advanced degrees) and EB-3 (for professionals and skilled workers) visa categories already retrogressed in June for individuals born in China and no forward movement is likely for the rest of the fiscal year, but then resume movement forward in October 2016 – no specific date identified, but I estimate it will be current for at least the first six months of fiscal year 2017 (i.e., until April 2017).
EB-2 worldwide is expected to have a cut-off date in the September Visa Bulletin, but the State Department has not yet predicted a specific date.
