Visa Bulletin Advances for EB-2 India and China

The U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin Shows That The Second Employment-Based Category (EB-2) Has Advanced for India and China: Why Is This Important?

The U.S. Department of State is responsible for keeping track of the supply and demand of permanent residence visas according to the quotas set up on the immigration laws. The laws provide how many total green cards are available each year (400,000), the portion allotted to employment-based cases (140,000), and the division of those visas between the five levels of employment based immigration. Also, the law prohibits any individual country from using up more than 7% of the worldwide quota for each individual visa category. This is referred to as the “per-country limitation” and is the reason that India and China are chronically backlogged in the EB-2 (Masters degree level positions) category.

The USDOS announces visa availability through its monthly Visa Bulletin. (The Visa Bulletin may be accessed through links to our website, http://www.immigrationpage.com)

The Visa Bulletin states the “cut-off date” for each category. The cut-off date is the latest date for which a visa is available in a particular category. For the last three years, the cut-off dates for the EB-2 category for India and China have been chronically backlogged to mid-2007. This means that persons who filed their cases in this category, after 2007, have had to wait in limbo, while the cut-off date stalled.

In the past two-three months, the EB-2 category has begun to advance for India and China. The USDOS has indicated that the advance in cut-off dates is the result of decreased demand for visas. This could be due to several factors, including lower usage of EB-1 numbers (which spill down to EB-2), a slower economy, and clearing out of the EB-2 2007 cases.

Now, the February 2012 Visa Bulletin shows that the cut-off date for India and China in the EB-2 category has advanced to January 1, 2010. This means that anyone whose priority date (date of filing of the labor certification or visa petition) is January 1, 2010 or earlier, can now file an application for adjustment of status, if they are in the United States, or they may process their immigration visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad, if they are outside of the country.

Bottom Line: If an EB-2 immigrant from India or China is now eligible to file their adjustment case, due to the advancement of the cut-off dates, then it is extremely important that they do so in the month of February 2012. The USDOS Visa Office is never certain how long priority dates will remain available. The dates can advance, stall or retrogress according to supply and demand of visas in the individual categories. If an eligible immigrant misses their chance to file adjustment now, they may have to wait years before the opportunity will arise again.

For questions on these subjects and for your immigration needs, call Attorney Barry Walker at 662-841-0629. With over 20 years of service, we are the oldest full-service immigration law firm in Mississippi and we serve clients in all parts of the United States and around the world.

Senate Bill S.1979: Permanent Extension of Conrad 30 Program

Senator Kent Conrad has recently introduced Senate Bill S.1979. This bill, if enacted in its current form, would permanently extend the Conrad 30 program. The Conrad 30 program is the law which gives standing to all 50 states and the U.S. territories to recommend J-1 waivers for foreign physicians who are subject to the 2 year foreign residence requirements. J-1 waivers are given to physicians who agree to work in underserved areas of the United States for 3 years.This is the principal program by which many underserved areas in the United States are provided highly skilled, U.S. trained physicians. Traditionally, the Conrad 30 program has been extended periodically every 2-3 years. As proposed by Senator Conrad, S. 1979 would make the program permanent, it would increase the incentives for H-1B physicians to serve underserved areas, it would actually open up the waiver program to H-1B physicians and it would provide protection to foreign physicians from potential employer abuse.
We hope that the Senate will act positively on this bill. The United States will experience an increase in the demand for quality physicians as our population grows older. A permanent Conrad 30 program will help meet those chronic needs.