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June 5, 2009
Department of State Announces Visa Availability Update
On June 5, 2009, during this year’s American Immigration Lawyers
Association conference, the Department of State (DOS) announced an
update on the current availability for employment-based visas, along
with predictions for fiscal year (FY) 2010. The DOS confirmed that EB1
categories remain current at this point, but regrettably, the DOS
expects this category to retrogress with numbers eventually becoming
backlogged. For example, China’s EB1 category is expected to be cut-off
in August or September of 2009.
| Category |
China |
India |
Mexico |
All Other Areas |
| EB1 |
Aug./Sept. 2009 |
C |
C |
C |
| EB2 |
Jan. 1, 2000 |
U as of Aug./Sept. |
C |
C |
| EB3 |
U |
U |
U |
U |
| EB4 |
C |
C |
C |
C |
| EB5 |
C |
C |
C |
C |
Similar news was announced for the EB2 category. India’s EB2 category
is expected to become unavailable sometime in August or September of
2009. Likewise, while China’s EB2 category is currently cut-off on
January 1, 2000, it is expected to become totally unavailable in August
or September of 2009. The DOS reported a total of 25,000 EB2
applications in queue for immigrant visas.
As anticipated, the EB3 category is expected to remain unavailable for
the remainder of the fiscal year. The DOS representative also made
several predictions for FY 2010. India’s EB3 category for FY 2010 will
be cut-off on November 1, 2001, and both China’s and Mexico’s EB3
category will be cut-off on March 3, 2003 for FY 2010.
Although the EB4 and EB5 categories remain current, the DOS reported a
significant increase in the number of visa requests in both categories.
GT will continue to provide updates as they become available from the
DOS.
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