VISA BULLETIN FOR JUNE 2012

The following information is provided by the Visa Office regarding the cut-off dates for the month of June 2012.

FAMILY PREFERENCES

F1-Family first preference: Unmarried sons and daughters over the age of 21 years of U.S. Citizens. The cut-off date has moved forward by seven (7) weeks for most of the countries including India to June 22, 2005.

F2A - Family second preference: Spouses and minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents. The cut-off date has moved forward by six (6) weeks for most of the countries including India to January 1, 2010.

F2B- Family second preference: Unmarried sons and daughters over 21 of permanent residents. The cut-off date has moved forward by seven (7) weeks for most of the countries including India to April 15, 2004.

F3-Family third preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens and their spouses and children. The cut-off date has moved forward by three (3) weeks for most of the countries including India to April 1, 2002.

F4-Family fourth preference: Brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens. The cut-off date has moved forward by five (5) weeks for most of the countries including India to January 8, 2001.

EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCES

EB1 – Priority Workers: The cut-off date for this category for all countries including India is CURRENT.

EB2 – Advanced Degree holders: The cut-off date for this category for most countries is CURRENT and for India, it is currently unavailable.

EB3 – Professional Skilled Workers: The cut-off date for this category has moved forward by five (5) weeks to June 8, 2006 for most of the countries and for India it has moved forward by one (1) week to September 15, 2002.

EB3 – Other Workers: The cut-off date for this category has moved forward by five (5) weeks to June 8, 2006 for most of the countries and for India it has moved forward by one (1) week to September 15, 2002.

EB4 (Certain Special Immigrants), EB4 (Certain Religious Workers), EB5 (Targeted Employment Areas) & EB5 (Pilot Programs) are CURRENT for all countries including INDIA.

  

CHINA-MAINLAND AND INDIA EMPLOYMENT

SECOND PREFERENCE CATEGORY IS UNAVAILABLE

Despite the retrogression of the China and India Employment Second preference cut-off date to August 15, 2007, demand for numbers by applicants with priority dates earlier than that date remained excessive. Such demand is primarily based on cases which had originally been filed with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) for adjustment of status in the Employment Third preference category, and are now eligible to be upgraded to Employment Second preference status. The potential amount of such “upgrade” demand is not currently being reported, but it was evident that the continued availability of Employment Second preference numbers for countries other than China and India was being jeopardized. Therefore, it was necessary to make the China and India Employment Second preference category “unavailable” in early April, and it will remain so for the remainder of FY-2012.

Numbers will once again be available for China and India Employment Second preference cases beginning October 1, 2012 under the FY-2013 annual numerical limitations. Every effort will be made to return the China and India Employment Second preference cut-off date to the May 1, 2010 date which had been reached in April 2012. Readers should be advised that it is impossible to accurately estimate how long that may take, but current indications are that it would definitely not occur before spring 2013.

USCIS has indicated that it will continue accepting China and India Employment Second preference I-485 filings during May, based on the originally announced May cut-off date.

EMPLOYMENT FIRST AND SECOND PREFERENCE VISA AVAILABILITY

Item F of the May Visa Bulletin (number 44) provided projections regarding visa availability in the coming months. Information received from the USCIS after the publication of that item requires an update in the projections for the Employment First and Second preference categories.

Employment First: Based on the current rate of demand, it may be necessary to establish a cut-off date at the end of the fiscal year in an effort to limit number use within the annual numerical limit.

Employment Second: Based on the current rate of demand, it may be necessary to establish a cut-off date for this category for all countries other than China and India. Such action may be required at any time during the next few months.

Please be advised that the above are only estimates for what could happen during the next few months based on applicant demand patterns experienced in recent months.

DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY 2013 (DV-2013) RESULTS

The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2013 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Approximately, 105,628 applicants have been registered and notified and may now make an application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely that some of the first 50,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance, this larger figure should insure that all DV-2013 numbers will be used during fiscal year 2013 (October 1, 2012 until September 30, 2013).