Business Immigration Weekly for July 10, 2015

AUGUST 2015 VISA BULLETIN UPDATE AND PREDICTIONS OF FUTURE VISA AVAILABILITY

The Department of State (DOS) released its August 2015 Visa Bulletin which shows the availability of employment-based immigrant visa categories for the month of August. Below is a summary of the bulletin highlights:

• The EB-2 India category remains stalled at October 1, 2008. The DOS predicts that this category will not experience any further advancement through the end of the fiscal year.
• The EB-2 China category continues to advance from June 1, 2013 to December 15, 2013. The DOS has indicated that this category may advance slightly or remain at this date for the next month.
• The EB-3 India category advances from January 22, 2004 to June 1, 2004. The DOS predicts that this category may continue to advance for a few months each month through the end of the fiscal year.
• The EB-3 World and Mexico categories are almost current advancing from February 15, 2015 to July 15, 2015. The DOS predicts that this category will continue to advance through the end of the fiscal year.
• The EB-3 Philippines category sees a further retrogression from January 1, 2005 to June 1, 2004. The DOS has indicated that this retrogression is required to contain the use of immigrant visas in this category for this fiscal year although the category may advance a few months until the end of the fiscal year.
• The EB-3 China category experiences serious and drastic retrogression from September 1, 2011 to June 1, 2004. The DOS has indicated that this category will advance and may return to 2010 or 2011 at the beginning of the next fiscal year.
• The EB-5 China sees advancement of a few months from May 1, 2013 to September 1, 2013.

Comparison to Prior Months

The following is a comparison of priority date movement since the inception of the current retrogression in 2007: