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Friday, November 4, 2011

Priority date Explained for EB2 and EB3 Applicants [Green Card Processing]

Priority date is a United States immigration concept - it is the date of filling for labor certification.


A common path to the green card in the United States is to obtain it through a family based or employment based petition, a very complex process that can take many years to complete. When a foreign worker, usually on a temporary work visa such as an H-1B with a U.S. employer, begins the green card process, the first step is to complete labor certification to prove that a qualified American worker could not be found to fill the position the foreign worker is taking. Labor certification is not required if applying in the EB1 category. The labor certification process has undergone a number of changes in recent years, from the laborious supervised recruitment process, to the Reduction-in-Recruitment (RIR) process, and now to the much faster online PERM system. In all cases, the date the labor certification is filed (directly with the United States Department of Labor for PERM applications, or with a State Workforce Agency for RIR applications) is assigned as the individual's Priority Date. As soon as the labor certification is approved, the immigrant's employer may file an I-140 form Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker petition with the USCIS to establish the immigrant's eligibility to file the I-485 form Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, i.e. the green card application itself.
The United States Department of State publishes a monthly visa bulletin [1] which lists cutoff priority dates for different immigration categories and birth countries. Only those intending immigrants with priority dates before the cutoff date are permitted to file their Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and obtain their green card. The cutoff dates generally move forward over time as old cases are disposed of. However, in certain cases, such as if a large number of old cases work their way through the system at about the same time, the cutoff dates can actually retrogress (or roll back). If an individual already has a pending AOS application on file when a retrogression occurs that places the cutoff earlier than the applicant's priority date, USCIS sets the application aside and will not adjudicate it until the priority date is current again. As an example, after months of stagnation, in June 2007 the priority date cutoffs for employment-based second and third preference (EB2 and EB3) applicants (the bulk of employment-based green card applicants) advanced dramatically for all countries of birth. On the low end, the cutoff advanced eight months for immigrants from mainland China with jobs requiring Master's degrees. EB3 for India-born applicants has moved forward 25 months, the most of any category, thus impacting a huge number of workers with jobs requiring Bachelor's degrees.



For individuals starting the employment-based green card process now, country of birth and job requirements are paramount in determining how long the overall process will take. Individuals from countries other than China or India with jobs requiring a Master's degree can complete the entire process, from labor certification to receiving the green card, in as little as four months (in a best case scenario), if there is no backlog of visa availability, i.e., all priority dates are current. Workers from China or India with jobs requiring only a Bachelor's degree can expect to wait years after filing the labor certification and immigrant visa petition to become eligible to file the final application for the green card itself.


EB2 Priority dates:

DateIndiaChina
Nov 2011Nov 1st, 07Nov 1st, 07
Oct 2011Jul 15th, 07Jul 15th, 07
Sep 2011Apr 15th, 07Apr 15th, 07
Aug 2011Apr 15th, 07Apr 15th, 07
July 2011Mar 8th, 07Mar 8th, 07
Jun 2011Oct 15th, 06Oct 15th, 06
May 2011Jul 1st, 06Aug 1st, 06
Apr 2011May 8th, 06Jul 22nd, 06
Mar 2011May 8th, 06Jul 8th, 06
Feb 2011May 8th, 06Jul 1st, 06
Jan 2011May 8th, 06Jun 22nd, 06
Dec 2010May 8th, 06Jun 8th, 06
Nov 2010May 8th, 06Jun 1st, 06
Oct 2010May 8th, 06May 22nd, 06
Sep 2010May 8th, 06May 8th, 06
Aug 2010Mar 1st, 06Mar 1st, 06
Jul 2010Oct 1st, 05Nov 22nd, 05
Jun 2010Feb 1st, 05Nov 22nd, 05
May 2010Feb 1st, 05Sep 22nd, 05
Apr 2010Feb 1st, 05Aug 22nd, 05
Mar 2010Feb 1st, 05Jul 8th, 05
Feb 2010Jan 22nd, 05May 22nd, 05
Jan 2010Jan 22nd, 05May 22nd, 05
Dec 2009Jan 22nd, 05April 1st, 05
Nov 2009Jan 22nd, 05Apr 1st, 05
Oct 2009Jan 22nd, 05Mar 22nd, 05
Sep 2009Jan 8th, 05Jan 8th, 05
Aug 2009Oct 1st, 03Oct 1st, 03
Jul 2009Jan 1st, 00Jan 1st, 00
Jun 2009Jan 1st, 00Feb 15th, 05
May 2009Feb 15th, 04Feb 15th, 05
Apr 2009Feb 15th, 04Feb 15th, 05
Mar 2009Feb 15th, 04Feb 15th, 05
Feb 2009Jan 1st, 04Jan 1st, 05
Jan 2009Jul 1st, 03Jul 8th, 04
Dec 2008Jun 1st, 03Jun 1st, 04
Nov 2008Jun 1st, 03Jun 1st, 04
Oct 2008Apr 1st, 03Apr 1st, 04
Sep 2008Aug 1st, 06Aug 1st, 06
Aug 2008Jun 1st, 06Jun 1st, 06
July 2008Apr 1st, 04Apr 1st, 04
June 2008Apr 1st, 04Apr 1st, 04
May 2008Jan 1st, 04Jan 1st, 04
July 2007CurrentCurrent

EB3 Priority Dates
DateIndiaChinaMexico
Nov 2011Jul 22nd, 02Aug 24th, 04Dec 22nd, 05
Oct 2011Jul 15th, 02Aug 8th, 04Dec 8th, 05
Sep 2011Jul 8th, 02Jul 8th, 04Nov 1st, 05
Aug 2011Jun 1st, 02Jul 8th, 04Nov 1st, 05
Jul 2011May 1st, 02Jul 1st, 04Jul 1st, 05
Jun 2011Apr 22nd, 02May 15th, 04
May 2011Apr 15th, 02Apr 15th, 04
Apr 2011Apr 8th, 02Mar 1st, 04
Mar 2011Mar 15th, 02Jan 22nd, 04
Feb 2011Feb 22nd, 02Jan 1st, 04
Jan 2011Feb 1st, 02Dec 15th, 03
Dec 2010Jan 22nd, 02Dec 8th, 03
Nov 2010Jan 22nd, 02Nov 22nd, 03
Oct 2010Jan 15th, 02Nov 8th, 03
Sep 2010Jan 1st, 02Oct 22nd, 03
Aug 2010Jan 1st, 02Sep 22nd, 03
Jul 2010Nov 22nd, 01Aug 15th, 03
Jun 2010Oct 22nd, 01Jun 22nd, 03
May 2010Oct 1st, 01Apr 22nd, 03
Apr 2010Sep 8th, 01Feb 1st, 03
Mar 2010Jul 1st, 01Dec 15th, 02
Feb 2010Jun 22nd, 01Sep 22nd, 02
Jan 2010Jun 22nd, 01Aug 1st, 02
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