qvadis
02-13 07:23 PM
No. You are wrong..
202 (e)(3) will not applicable, because of (a)(5).
The third point excempts that ..
(3) 3/ except as provided in subsection (a)(5), the proportion of the visa numbers made available under each of paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 203(b) is equal to the ratio of the total number of visas made available under the respective paragraph to the total number of visas made available under section 203(b).
202(a)(5) was added by AC21!! That's exactly the change that allowed USCIS to give additional visas to over-subscribed countries.
202 (e)(3) will not applicable, because of (a)(5).
The third point excempts that ..
(3) 3/ except as provided in subsection (a)(5), the proportion of the visa numbers made available under each of paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 203(b) is equal to the ratio of the total number of visas made available under the respective paragraph to the total number of visas made available under section 203(b).
202(a)(5) was added by AC21!! That's exactly the change that allowed USCIS to give additional visas to over-subscribed countries.
wallpaper tattoo tattoo Fighting fit: Nadya Suleman octomom nadya suleman bikini.
kshitijnt
03-29 11:23 PM
I am not sure what vision Mr.Advani has for India. May be at this age he might have better vision than other people in the same league.
Lets not bring Age into the picture. Manmohan is not much younger either and has had 2 heart surgeries so far. Economy is not the PMs only job. The real power rests with Sonia and my personal opinion is that Advani is a lot more competent than her. Manmohan is just a mask of Congress. "Mukhvta".
Lets not bring Age into the picture. Manmohan is not much younger either and has had 2 heart surgeries so far. Economy is not the PMs only job. The real power rests with Sonia and my personal opinion is that Advani is a lot more competent than her. Manmohan is just a mask of Congress. "Mukhvta".
chmur
02-12 11:05 PM
Some of the events in the last week seem to indicate so ??
1. Writeoff FBI namechecks pending for > 180 Days
2. Moving EB3 dates in smaller increments . Eb3 India was moved by ~3 Months
Step 1 was crucial because this will enable USCIS to approve all the applications within 'Current Dates'. Atleast now, USCIS will know pretty clearly where they stand when they move the dates (in conjunction with DOS) , unlike last June fiasco.
Step 2 ; Moving the dates in reasonable increments indicates they do not want to loose control of approval process . Lot of 2003 /04 filers got GC's in last July at the cost 2001/2002 filers . It was obviously arbitrary once they made everything current and probably depended on how eager an officer was to grab those visa numbers for his /her cases. USCIS lost control over the process.
Regarding EB2 heart burn - Blame it on substitute filers, obviously most of the line breakers would have used EB2 rather than EB3. But I think eventually EB2 will get higher priority and move faster then EB3 once the Unused numbers from others categories gets distributed after June /July. Calm your nerves.
I only wish if they had streamlined the process in this fashion about 3-4 years back . We would have not lost 200,000 visas and most of the dates would have been current or at the most 2 years behind. Very reasonable.
Am I dreaming....has USCIS got it's act together??
I forget , IV was not around 3-4 years back.
But we cannot be too enthusiastic about these good news because unless those 200,000 numbers are recaptured the dates will soon get struck in near future .
1. Writeoff FBI namechecks pending for > 180 Days
2. Moving EB3 dates in smaller increments . Eb3 India was moved by ~3 Months
Step 1 was crucial because this will enable USCIS to approve all the applications within 'Current Dates'. Atleast now, USCIS will know pretty clearly where they stand when they move the dates (in conjunction with DOS) , unlike last June fiasco.
Step 2 ; Moving the dates in reasonable increments indicates they do not want to loose control of approval process . Lot of 2003 /04 filers got GC's in last July at the cost 2001/2002 filers . It was obviously arbitrary once they made everything current and probably depended on how eager an officer was to grab those visa numbers for his /her cases. USCIS lost control over the process.
Regarding EB2 heart burn - Blame it on substitute filers, obviously most of the line breakers would have used EB2 rather than EB3. But I think eventually EB2 will get higher priority and move faster then EB3 once the Unused numbers from others categories gets distributed after June /July. Calm your nerves.
I only wish if they had streamlined the process in this fashion about 3-4 years back . We would have not lost 200,000 visas and most of the dates would have been current or at the most 2 years behind. Very reasonable.
Am I dreaming....has USCIS got it's act together??
I forget , IV was not around 3-4 years back.
But we cannot be too enthusiastic about these good news because unless those 200,000 numbers are recaptured the dates will soon get struck in near future .
2011 Nadya Suleman bikini jpg
sidbee
06-01 02:19 PM
Guys,
I have been working here for 9 years and next year we plan to return back to India. I spoke to SSN customer service to find out my retirement and survivor benefits. Being an Indian citizen, all these are available only if me, or my dependants, have a valid residing status with the US, at the time of making the application. The contribution at this point is like getting a right to work. This is outrageous.
We all have been legally invited into this country for a work, and that means the US gov should protect our legal and fair interests. It is universally true that everyone works to protect his family. Now here is a case, where I have no right to my retirement money just because I dont have a legal resident status. Whose fault is this. I already made the application 6 years ago. If my home country does not have the comparable SSN structure, then return the money back? We will pay the taxes and take the money back. Our kids need it.
I dont know what is the appropriate channel to get this fixed. This appears more like human rights violation, or abuse. I am sure there are many in this forum who are in the same boat as I am. Can someone team up with me to do more research or share your discoveries.
To the US, this is what I got to say:
=======================
If you want to protect the jobs for your people, please do it. You have every right. But please dont dump the people you officially invited to augument the workforce of your country into the waters. Before you bring in additional workers to support your companies, do necessary corrections in your immigration policies to let them in only with green card. Dont strangulate their careers. Your existing policies have been burning the aspirations and careers of a lot of innocent people from India and China.
To those innocent legal foreign workers that have already gathered 40 points in SS, you owe them. They deserve citizenship, not green card. I know it is jumping across multitude of issues, but is it not fair.
The only solution , to all our problems, is a LAWSUIT.
The earlier some one has the balls to do it , the better it is.
I have been working here for 9 years and next year we plan to return back to India. I spoke to SSN customer service to find out my retirement and survivor benefits. Being an Indian citizen, all these are available only if me, or my dependants, have a valid residing status with the US, at the time of making the application. The contribution at this point is like getting a right to work. This is outrageous.
We all have been legally invited into this country for a work, and that means the US gov should protect our legal and fair interests. It is universally true that everyone works to protect his family. Now here is a case, where I have no right to my retirement money just because I dont have a legal resident status. Whose fault is this. I already made the application 6 years ago. If my home country does not have the comparable SSN structure, then return the money back? We will pay the taxes and take the money back. Our kids need it.
I dont know what is the appropriate channel to get this fixed. This appears more like human rights violation, or abuse. I am sure there are many in this forum who are in the same boat as I am. Can someone team up with me to do more research or share your discoveries.
To the US, this is what I got to say:
=======================
If you want to protect the jobs for your people, please do it. You have every right. But please dont dump the people you officially invited to augument the workforce of your country into the waters. Before you bring in additional workers to support your companies, do necessary corrections in your immigration policies to let them in only with green card. Dont strangulate their careers. Your existing policies have been burning the aspirations and careers of a lot of innocent people from India and China.
To those innocent legal foreign workers that have already gathered 40 points in SS, you owe them. They deserve citizenship, not green card. I know it is jumping across multitude of issues, but is it not fair.
The only solution , to all our problems, is a LAWSUIT.
The earlier some one has the balls to do it , the better it is.
more...
vamsi_poondla
02-14 01:54 PM
I am willing to contribute $10 to get solid legal advice on this and I am willing to contribute a lot more in a lawsuit IF and ONLY IF there is a strong legal basis for it.
I appreciate IV for its efforts. Happy V'Day.
I will contribute for legal advice if some leaders for this initiative steps forward with firm commitment. It may sound silly to put conditions like this. But if such a big movement is here in making all of us excited about the prospect of having a law suit, then it is a responsibility of those who initiated this thread to lead this effort forward.
I appreciate IV for its efforts. Happy V'Day.
I will contribute for legal advice if some leaders for this initiative steps forward with firm commitment. It may sound silly to put conditions like this. But if such a big movement is here in making all of us excited about the prospect of having a law suit, then it is a responsibility of those who initiated this thread to lead this effort forward.
mchundi
01-23 06:41 PM
Can they use same LC for more than one I-140?
Trying to understand damage done by LC substitution scams.
My understanding is they can and they do that. U will only know when the AOS is taken up for processing. In this case there were 5 of them on the same labor. Even 140 gets approved, but not 485. I really wud like to know how VISA numbers get handled in these cases.
I know several guys who took this path. Of them only one was a genuine case. All others were some kind of deals. Only one of them had a bad deal(Thanks to Mandalapa). Others r still happy with their EAD's.
I mean this is a widespread practice. I situations like now when we have so few VISA numbers it is unfortunate one for us if those VISA numbers r lost.
Trying to understand damage done by LC substitution scams.
My understanding is they can and they do that. U will only know when the AOS is taken up for processing. In this case there were 5 of them on the same labor. Even 140 gets approved, but not 485. I really wud like to know how VISA numbers get handled in these cases.
I know several guys who took this path. Of them only one was a genuine case. All others were some kind of deals. Only one of them had a bad deal(Thanks to Mandalapa). Others r still happy with their EAD's.
I mean this is a widespread practice. I situations like now when we have so few VISA numbers it is unfortunate one for us if those VISA numbers r lost.
more...
alterego
07-25 05:50 PM
Yeah Ron Gotcher is speculating, but there is some credibility to what he is saying. He did predict the rapid movement of PDs toward the end of the year, in fact at one point he was extremely optimistic more than what happened to date. So he did have some insight into the inner workings (or rather non-workings!) of the USCIS. He also openly shared his interaction with Charlie Oppenheim.
This is why people should not get so excited now. What EB2I got is a little hope, for most it will be false hope, a select few have green hope, but we will only know them by Sept. in retrospect.
For the rest of us it will be back to the drawing board, oops message board. My feeling is things are likely to be somewhere between the extremely pessimistic projections of Ron Gotcher and the extremely optimistic projections of VLRao.
I suspect the PD will move back to the April 2004 cutoff and then move forward slowly as spillover allows, so in other words at a rate faster than in the past. I stand by my view that we will need most of next year and perhaps some of 2010 spillover to quench the thirst of EB2I and C.
I don't think the point Ron made that if everything was current it would take 5 plus years for USCIS to clear the back log is correct. If it really is the case then we are more badly screwed than any of us realise and it goes totally against the statistics the USCIS has been leaking about the number of pending cases. Which many of us have number crunched already.
This is why people should not get so excited now. What EB2I got is a little hope, for most it will be false hope, a select few have green hope, but we will only know them by Sept. in retrospect.
For the rest of us it will be back to the drawing board, oops message board. My feeling is things are likely to be somewhere between the extremely pessimistic projections of Ron Gotcher and the extremely optimistic projections of VLRao.
I suspect the PD will move back to the April 2004 cutoff and then move forward slowly as spillover allows, so in other words at a rate faster than in the past. I stand by my view that we will need most of next year and perhaps some of 2010 spillover to quench the thirst of EB2I and C.
I don't think the point Ron made that if everything was current it would take 5 plus years for USCIS to clear the back log is correct. If it really is the case then we are more badly screwed than any of us realise and it goes totally against the statistics the USCIS has been leaking about the number of pending cases. Which many of us have number crunched already.
2010 Proud mum: Suleman with six of
krishna.ahd
02-14 04:11 PM
Hi Unitednations
I am reading your current and past posts recently.
Seems like you have enough information ( may be insider info also) regarding Retro and Gc process.
What is the practical solution short term and long term , Not what we like to have , i am looking for what should be ??
Out of Goal from IV , what is practically achievable ??
Thanks in advance for your comments
I am reading your current and past posts recently.
Seems like you have enough information ( may be insider info also) regarding Retro and Gc process.
What is the practical solution short term and long term , Not what we like to have , i am looking for what should be ??
Out of Goal from IV , what is practically achievable ??
Thanks in advance for your comments
more...
acecupid
06-28 07:25 PM
I got very stable news that only July 485 applications will get approved
Whats the basis of your statement ? Source of info ?
Whats the basis of your statement ? Source of info ?
hair fool you: Nadya Suleman is
Aah_GC
07-11 06:10 PM
Guys.. can one of you please suggest a good Canadian PR processing company? I keep getting mails from cr@protechimmigration.com. Is Protech good?
Would really appreciate a reply.
Would really appreciate a reply.
more...
harikris
06-03 09:18 PM
Work-arounds, we are so familiar with such as AOS, EAD, H1B beyond 6 yrs, etc., are easier to get in. For the current situation, simple work-around could be to adjudicate a case when all is good except the visa number, and send an interim GC card until visa number is available. When visa number is available, interim card could be replaced with a permanent card. In a nutshell, replace EAD/AP with an interim permanent resident card, and replace it with a permanent card when visa number is available.
Call it interim GC or EAD it does not matter. I don't think we should advocate introducing one more step in an already convoluted process. What if they agree to giving an interim GC with an incremental benefit to what is already available under EAD?
Call it interim GC or EAD it does not matter. I don't think we should advocate introducing one more step in an already convoluted process. What if they agree to giving an interim GC with an incremental benefit to what is already available under EAD?
hot Suleman#39;s mother stated that
thomachan72
03-27 11:55 AM
Election in India is approaching fast. Who will be next prime minister of India.
(This is better than doing predictions for visa bulletins :)).
You really think so?? The next PMs name is not even on your poll lists!!
India and Russia have set examples to the rest of the world. How? well...
Russia- by showing how communism can be at its worst
India- by happily showing how democracy can be at its... you guessed it, "worst"
Dont agree?? True Democracy, implies "for the people and by the people", right?
well in India its a tiny bit different...."For the thugs and by the thugs" Now the word thugs vary in meaning depending upon the citizen affected... for some it might simply mean "currupt" for others "looters", for some others "dishonest" and for a unfortunate majority it goes to the extent of "murderers".
Now.....still interested in wasting time with the projections for Indian PM??
(This is better than doing predictions for visa bulletins :)).
You really think so?? The next PMs name is not even on your poll lists!!
India and Russia have set examples to the rest of the world. How? well...
Russia- by showing how communism can be at its worst
India- by happily showing how democracy can be at its... you guessed it, "worst"
Dont agree?? True Democracy, implies "for the people and by the people", right?
well in India its a tiny bit different...."For the thugs and by the thugs" Now the word thugs vary in meaning depending upon the citizen affected... for some it might simply mean "currupt" for others "looters", for some others "dishonest" and for a unfortunate majority it goes to the extent of "murderers".
Now.....still interested in wasting time with the projections for Indian PM??
more...
house 2010 Nadya Suleman aka Octomom
EB-VoiceImmigration
01-15 03:22 AM
and yes my friend tinyhk12
:d lmao
:d lmao
tattoo octomom nadya suleman bikini. quot;octomomquot; Nadya Suleman,
BharatPremi
05-19 09:33 PM
http://books.google.com/books?id=i4b6xmZI_XoC&dq=would+India+help+Sri+lanka+tamils&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=plUTSsCPFoS08ASj_LCIBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=13#PPA34,M1
more...
pictures octomom nadya suleman bikini.
kalyan
12-13 10:56 AM
If per Country Laws are removed in issuing Green Cards, then 90% of the employment based Visa's will be given to Indians and that too in the IT Sector.
Mostly the country will be Indians, chinese, mexicans . The Law makers don't want to colonize America.
There is a lot of stress that was done in making that decision
You can challenge this but i would say, you will never win it.
You can challenge the State but cannot win it.
Mostly the country will be Indians, chinese, mexicans . The Law makers don't want to colonize America.
There is a lot of stress that was done in making that decision
You can challenge this but i would say, you will never win it.
You can challenge the State but cannot win it.
dresses of Octomom Nadya Suleman,
kiran_k02
08-17 01:42 AM
Exactly.
This part amazes me most.
He is an actor on a personal visit and now govt of India has to intervene.
And look at the protesters.
There are thousands of more important issues in India and they don't bother them while detention of SRK makes them protest. Hight of stupidity.
Amen!!
This part amazes me most.
He is an actor on a personal visit and now govt of India has to intervene.
And look at the protesters.
There are thousands of more important issues in India and they don't bother them while detention of SRK makes them protest. Hight of stupidity.
Amen!!
more...
makeup that Nadya Suleman popped
nrk
09-17 01:10 PM
Hi VDLRAO,
Couple of months back you were very optimistic about EB2 I will be current soon, what were the things influencing your thoughts.
Do you think EB2 I, will not be crossing 2005 by September 2010 ?
When it took about 2 years spill over visas (2008 and 2009) for the EB2 India dates to move from April 2004 to Jan 2005, I am sure you could estimate how long it would take to cross a year.
Couple of months back you were very optimistic about EB2 I will be current soon, what were the things influencing your thoughts.
Do you think EB2 I, will not be crossing 2005 by September 2010 ?
When it took about 2 years spill over visas (2008 and 2009) for the EB2 India dates to move from April 2004 to Jan 2005, I am sure you could estimate how long it would take to cross a year.
girlfriend nadya suleman bikini bod
mirage
07-04 08:21 AM
One thing which is missing in the News article about this fiasco is they are sounding like some precedural hitch happened they are not sounding scandal, conspiratory, I mean their title should be like 'DOS plays joke on Legals', 'DOS arbitrary decisions hurt legals' types......
hairstyles house Nadya Suleman #39
sobyb
05-02 12:55 AM
I think judging Gandhiji in the context of Indian History is beyond my pay grade. I am sure about the fact that his ideology would remain relevant for much more time in human history.
vine93
09-23 05:12 PM
Nixtor,
This idea makes much sense and I am for it.
Only hitch is how fruitful it would be launching it now. Why not to wait for next season ( Probably Democrats ).
This idea makes much sense and I am for it.
Only hitch is how fruitful it would be launching it now. Why not to wait for next season ( Probably Democrats ).
ajaypr
06-24 01:24 PM
Why should we punish people who play by the rules? Charles Oppenheim, Guru of the Visa Office in the State Department, has confirmed what we warned employment-based (EB) immigrants about in our June 2009 newsletter. Not only are EB-3 numbers unavailable for the rest of the fiscal year and EB-2 numbers for persons born in China and India oversubscribed, but the situation is going to get worse, much worse. Mr. Oppenheim states that the EB-1, EB-4 and EB-5 categories are all experiencing greatly increased demand, so much so that the EB-4 category (religious workers and special immigrants) may retrogress this...
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/carlshusterman/2009/06/grim-outlook-for-eb-visa-numbers.html)
This is what I received from a immigration lawyer ......
LATEST GRIM VISA BULLETIN PROJECTIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARDS ILLUSTRATE NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
There are few things that clearly demonstrate the overarching need for immigration reform than the most recent information provided by the U.S. Department of State's (DOS) Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin provides information on the availability of immigrant visa numbers, which dictates when foreign nationals may apply for green cards under various preference categories. The July installment of the Visa Bulletin shows complete unavailability for the vast majority of employment-based cases. Moreover, DOS projections show that demand for higher-preference green card categories could reach record levels, which would lead to backlogs in these categories where green card numbers were traditionally available in the past.
The Visa Bulletin establishes "cut-off" dates based on the demand for green cards versus the amount actually available under immigration law to each specific employment-based (and family-based) category per country for each fiscal year. As it assesses green card demand in relation to availability, the DOS may move these cut-off dates forward or back, or not at all. When the DOS believes that all immigrant visa numbers in a particular category will be exhausted (or allocated) by the end of a particular fiscal year (i.e., September 30th), it will indicate an "unavailability" of numbers (marked as "U") in the Visa Bulletin. The law prevents any single country from overuse of immigrant visa numbers during a particular fiscal year. As a result, foreign nationals born in countries from which there is significant immigration to the U.S. will typically have a separate "cut-off" date (and longer waiting times for an available green card number) in the Visa Bulletin.
An individual's priority date or "place in line" for a visa number under the employment-based categories is the date on which his or her employer files a labor certification or immigrant visa petition with the government. Individuals assigned priority dates that are earlier than the relevant preference category cut-off date noted in the Visa Bulletin are eligible to move to the last step in the employment-based green card process - either processing of an adjustment of status application with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), or processing of an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad. When the category is "unavailable," individuals cannot file for adjustment of status or receive an immigrant visa.
In the most recent Visa Bulletin, immigrant visa numbers continue to be unavailable for all third preference (EB-3) employment-based cases. Third preference cases comprise the majority of pending employment-based green card cases, as they include positions requiring at minimum either a bachelor's degree or two years of work experience.
The July Visa Bulletin indicates that the first, second and fourth and fifth preference employment categories remain current for July. However, since demand in the second. preference category for individuals from China and India exceeds the per-country limitations, these two countries have second-preference cut-off dates of January 2000.
Overall, the July Visa Bulletin continues a substantial decrease in green card availability over the government's 2009 fiscal year. Admittedly, the retrogression, or backward movement of the cut-off dates, has been more common for employment-based green card numbers in recent years. Yet the complete exhaustion of EB-3 numbers and the sharp decline in India and China's EB-2 numbers are staggering reversals given the slow yet steady improvement in these cut-off dates during the present fiscal year.
DOS has projected that, as a result of significant filings in the EB-4 and EB-5 categories, there will be fewer numbers to supplement the EB-1 and EB-2 categories. In previous years, thousands of unused EB-4 and EB-5 numbers "spilled over" into other preference categories. However, greater-than-anticipated EB-4 and EB-5 usage, as well as greater demand in the EB-1 category itself, will create an even greater dearth of available "spill over" immigrant visa numbers in the EB-2 category.
In addition, the DOS has indicated that the EB-1 category for individuals born in India or China may backlog or retrogress later this summer, and may do so again in the coming fiscal year. Predictably, prognostications for the EB-2 category for India and China are also quite grim - in the next month or two, the EB-2 category could become unavailable. In particular, USCIS has indicated that it has about 25,000 EB-2 India cases and "significant numbers" of cases for Chinese nationals that have been reviewed and are simply awaiting visa number availability. This category has a typical fiscal-year limit of 2,800, plus any remaining numbers from the EB-1, EB-4 and EB-5 categories.
With respect to the EB-3 category, the DOS has stated that the worldwide, China and Mexico quotas for the EB-3 category will become available again with the start of the new fiscal year in October 2009, with a projected cut-off date of March 1, 2003 for each. However, the EB-3 India quota may have a November 1, 2001 cut-off date.
The federal quotas limiting employment-based green card numbers have remained unchanged since 1990, nearly two decades ago. Since that time, the United States has undergone unprecedented expansion, technological development, and cultural diversification, in large part through immigration. During this progress, skilled immigrants have continued one of our country's oldest and proudest traditions - the search for better lives for their families, and the desire to contribute to and to participate in our free society. Still, these quotas remain stagnant, potentially stifling the future of our nation's ability in the 21st century to prosper as an economic competitor in our world, to build a broad-based infrastructure in our localities, and to live together as families in our homes.
A quarter-century prior to 1990, major revisions to the immigration quotas sparked a historic influx of individuals to our nation of immigrants. In 1965, this broad-based increase in immigration levels across all preference categories allowed some of the world's most talented individuals to come to our shores and share their knowledge as academics, increase our economic fortunes as innovators and entrepreneurs, build vibrant communities as leaders and organizers, and inspire with their tales of strife and triumph as refugees. For many ethnicities and nationalities, the "post-65" generation was the real beginning of their stories in America.
Faced with a major financial downturn and an increasingly competitive global economy, our country cannot choose the path of closed borders and restricted immigration. At this very moment, historically restrictive nations are expanding their immigration policies and attracting valuable immigrants otherwise bound for our shores.
Absent relief provided by potential legislation, there will be substantial backlogs for nationals of India and China in all categories for many years. Careful and strategic planning for employers and foreign nationals entering into or engaged in the immigrant visa process will be necessary while we continue to advocate zealously for reform to address these antiquated quotas.
These green card backlogs illustrate the need for comprehensive immigration reform. In particular, a long-overdue increase in employment-based green card availability would play a major role in making future generations of individuals feel welcome to come to our nation of immigrants and in spurring sorely needed innovation and prosperity.
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/carlshusterman/2009/06/grim-outlook-for-eb-visa-numbers.html)
This is what I received from a immigration lawyer ......
LATEST GRIM VISA BULLETIN PROJECTIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARDS ILLUSTRATE NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
There are few things that clearly demonstrate the overarching need for immigration reform than the most recent information provided by the U.S. Department of State's (DOS) Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin provides information on the availability of immigrant visa numbers, which dictates when foreign nationals may apply for green cards under various preference categories. The July installment of the Visa Bulletin shows complete unavailability for the vast majority of employment-based cases. Moreover, DOS projections show that demand for higher-preference green card categories could reach record levels, which would lead to backlogs in these categories where green card numbers were traditionally available in the past.
The Visa Bulletin establishes "cut-off" dates based on the demand for green cards versus the amount actually available under immigration law to each specific employment-based (and family-based) category per country for each fiscal year. As it assesses green card demand in relation to availability, the DOS may move these cut-off dates forward or back, or not at all. When the DOS believes that all immigrant visa numbers in a particular category will be exhausted (or allocated) by the end of a particular fiscal year (i.e., September 30th), it will indicate an "unavailability" of numbers (marked as "U") in the Visa Bulletin. The law prevents any single country from overuse of immigrant visa numbers during a particular fiscal year. As a result, foreign nationals born in countries from which there is significant immigration to the U.S. will typically have a separate "cut-off" date (and longer waiting times for an available green card number) in the Visa Bulletin.
An individual's priority date or "place in line" for a visa number under the employment-based categories is the date on which his or her employer files a labor certification or immigrant visa petition with the government. Individuals assigned priority dates that are earlier than the relevant preference category cut-off date noted in the Visa Bulletin are eligible to move to the last step in the employment-based green card process - either processing of an adjustment of status application with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), or processing of an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad. When the category is "unavailable," individuals cannot file for adjustment of status or receive an immigrant visa.
In the most recent Visa Bulletin, immigrant visa numbers continue to be unavailable for all third preference (EB-3) employment-based cases. Third preference cases comprise the majority of pending employment-based green card cases, as they include positions requiring at minimum either a bachelor's degree or two years of work experience.
The July Visa Bulletin indicates that the first, second and fourth and fifth preference employment categories remain current for July. However, since demand in the second. preference category for individuals from China and India exceeds the per-country limitations, these two countries have second-preference cut-off dates of January 2000.
Overall, the July Visa Bulletin continues a substantial decrease in green card availability over the government's 2009 fiscal year. Admittedly, the retrogression, or backward movement of the cut-off dates, has been more common for employment-based green card numbers in recent years. Yet the complete exhaustion of EB-3 numbers and the sharp decline in India and China's EB-2 numbers are staggering reversals given the slow yet steady improvement in these cut-off dates during the present fiscal year.
DOS has projected that, as a result of significant filings in the EB-4 and EB-5 categories, there will be fewer numbers to supplement the EB-1 and EB-2 categories. In previous years, thousands of unused EB-4 and EB-5 numbers "spilled over" into other preference categories. However, greater-than-anticipated EB-4 and EB-5 usage, as well as greater demand in the EB-1 category itself, will create an even greater dearth of available "spill over" immigrant visa numbers in the EB-2 category.
In addition, the DOS has indicated that the EB-1 category for individuals born in India or China may backlog or retrogress later this summer, and may do so again in the coming fiscal year. Predictably, prognostications for the EB-2 category for India and China are also quite grim - in the next month or two, the EB-2 category could become unavailable. In particular, USCIS has indicated that it has about 25,000 EB-2 India cases and "significant numbers" of cases for Chinese nationals that have been reviewed and are simply awaiting visa number availability. This category has a typical fiscal-year limit of 2,800, plus any remaining numbers from the EB-1, EB-4 and EB-5 categories.
With respect to the EB-3 category, the DOS has stated that the worldwide, China and Mexico quotas for the EB-3 category will become available again with the start of the new fiscal year in October 2009, with a projected cut-off date of March 1, 2003 for each. However, the EB-3 India quota may have a November 1, 2001 cut-off date.
The federal quotas limiting employment-based green card numbers have remained unchanged since 1990, nearly two decades ago. Since that time, the United States has undergone unprecedented expansion, technological development, and cultural diversification, in large part through immigration. During this progress, skilled immigrants have continued one of our country's oldest and proudest traditions - the search for better lives for their families, and the desire to contribute to and to participate in our free society. Still, these quotas remain stagnant, potentially stifling the future of our nation's ability in the 21st century to prosper as an economic competitor in our world, to build a broad-based infrastructure in our localities, and to live together as families in our homes.
A quarter-century prior to 1990, major revisions to the immigration quotas sparked a historic influx of individuals to our nation of immigrants. In 1965, this broad-based increase in immigration levels across all preference categories allowed some of the world's most talented individuals to come to our shores and share their knowledge as academics, increase our economic fortunes as innovators and entrepreneurs, build vibrant communities as leaders and organizers, and inspire with their tales of strife and triumph as refugees. For many ethnicities and nationalities, the "post-65" generation was the real beginning of their stories in America.
Faced with a major financial downturn and an increasingly competitive global economy, our country cannot choose the path of closed borders and restricted immigration. At this very moment, historically restrictive nations are expanding their immigration policies and attracting valuable immigrants otherwise bound for our shores.
Absent relief provided by potential legislation, there will be substantial backlogs for nationals of India and China in all categories for many years. Careful and strategic planning for employers and foreign nationals entering into or engaged in the immigrant visa process will be necessary while we continue to advocate zealously for reform to address these antiquated quotas.
These green card backlogs illustrate the need for comprehensive immigration reform. In particular, a long-overdue increase in employment-based green card availability would play a major role in making future generations of individuals feel welcome to come to our nation of immigrants and in spurring sorely needed innovation and prosperity.
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