August 2013 Visa Bulletin to bring hope for tons of EB2 Indians

The table below presents the priority date movement for India and China for last 3 years. In 2013, China has been progressing pretty good while the Indian EB2 priority date is stuck on September 2004. A big movement is expected in August 2013 Bulletin but no one know how big that would be. 

Some law firms are projecting movement up to Jan/Feb of 2008 as a best case scenario. There is a small chance of forward movement in September Bulletin also. But no body is expecting too much.

All the best to EB2 guys.

PD	employment- Based	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA
Jul-13	2nd	8-Aug-08	1-Sep-04
Jun-13	2nd	15-Jul-08	1-Sep-04
May-13	2nd	15-May-08	1-Sep-04
Apr-13	2nd	1-Apr-08	1-Sep-04
Mar-13	2nd	15-Feb-08	1-Sep-04
Feb-13	2nd	15-Jan-08	1-Sep-04
Jan-13	2nd	8-Dec-07	1-Sep-04
Dec-12	2nd	22-Oct-07	1-Sep-04
Nov-12	2nd	1-Sep-07	1-Sep-04
Oct-12	2nd	15-Jul-07	1-Sep-04
Sep-12	2nd	U	U
Aug-12	2nd	U	U
Jul-12	2nd	U	U
Jun-12	2nd	U	U
May-12	2nd	15-Aug-07	15-Aug-07
Apr-12	2nd	1-May-10	1-May-10
Mar-12	2nd	1-May-10	1-May-10
Feb-12	2nd	1-Jan-10	1-Jan-10
Jan-12	2nd	1-Jan-09	1-Jan-09
Dec-11	2nd	15-Mar-08	15-Mar-08
Nov-11	2nd	1-Nov-07	1-Nov-07
Oct-11	2nd	15-Jul-07	15-Jul-07
Sep-11	2nd	8-May-06	8-May-06
Aug-11	2nd	15-Apr-07	15-Apr-07
Jul-11	2nd	8-Mar-07	8-Mar-07
Jun-11	2nd	15-Oct-06	15-Oct-06
May-11	2nd	1-Aug-06	1-Jul-06
Apr-11	2nd	22-Jul-06	8-May-06
Mar-11	2nd	8-Jul-06	8-May-06

January 2012 VISA Bulletin: Will there be any movement?

Within two weeks the January 2012 Visa Bulletin will come out. Expectation is high among many as the priority date has been moving rapidly for last several months.

Capitol Immigration initially reported that the movement is supposed to be similar for January and February of 2012. In later publication, they used a more cautious tone and stayed conservative in their prediction. The December 2011 official VISA Bulletin did not talk about January 2012 expectations at all.

 Even though many are expecting another 3 months of movement, I strongly feel that there may not be any movement at all in the upcoming bulletin.

Good Luck Guys.

DECEMBER 2011 VISA Bulletin is OUT! EB2 PD advances to March 15th, 2008

As expected, the PD (Priority Date) for India advanced to March 15th,, 2008 in December 2011 VISA BULLETIN.

Here are the dates you need to know.

IMMIGRANT VISAS

Cut-Off Dates for Immigrant Visas

We are pleased to announce the December 2011 cut-off dates for immigrant visas for individuals born in India and those born in most other countries.

To qualify for an appointment, an applicant's priority date (the date that the petition was filed) must fall before the cut-off date for the appropriate category.

The following numbers are derived from the Department of State's Visa Bulletin. If you have additional questions about cut-off dates and your case is being processed at the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, please e-mail us.

Category	India	Most Other Countries
F1	1-Sep-2004	1-Sep-2004
FX	8-Feb-2009	8-Feb-2009
F2A	22-Mar-2009	22-Mar-2009
F2B	15-Aug-2003	15-Aug-2003
F3	8-Oct-2001	8-Oct-2001
F4	15-Jul-2000	15-Jul-2000
E1	CURRENT	CURRENT
E2	15-Mar-2008	CURRENT
E3	1-Aug-2002	15-Jan-2006
EW	22-Jul-2002	1-Jan-2006
E4	CURRENT	CURRENT
E4-Religious	CURRENT	CURRENT

January, February, March 2012 VISA Bulletin Prediction for EB2 India -China

EB2 and EB2 VISA Bulletin prediction for 2012. Here is the deal:
VISA Bulletin cut off date for DECEMBER 2011: March 15st, 2008 


Priority date Predictions:
VISA Bulletin Prediction for January 2012: July 1st, 2008 Priority date
VISA Bulletin Prediction for February 2012: November 1, 2008 Priority date

	Dec '11 (Out)	Jan '12	Feb '12	Mar '12	Apr '12	May '12	June '12
EB-2 India & China	03/15/2008	07/01/2008	11/01/2008	11/01/2008	11/01/2008	11/01/2008	Possible Retrogression
EB-3 China	09/12/2004	10/3/2004	10/24/2004	11/14/2004	12/5/2004	12/26/2004	01/15/2005
EB-3 India	07/22/2002	07/22/2002	08/01/2002	08/01/2002	08/15/2002	08/15/2002	08/22/2002
EB-3 ROW	01/22/2006	02/15/2006	03/15/2006	04/07/2006	04/21/2006	05/15/2006	06/04/2006

What is the basis of such prediction?

Comment made by Charles Oppenheim couple of weeks back. Mr. Oppenheim predicted that priority dates would be advanced "significantly" over the next few visa bulletins. He indicated that "significantly" could mean a four month jump to March 1, 2008 for the December bulletin. Similar trend will follow for another two months.

Enjoy.

Predict your Priority Date: Calculator online

I have written an article about how to check your priority date before. See article: http://visabulletinprediction.blogspot.com/2011/11/visa-bulletin-prediction-form-2011-2012.html

In the previous article I used the PD prediction tool by CAPITOL IMMIGRATION. I used a PD of May15th, 2008 and came up that PD will be current as early as March 2012. However, they also reported other numbers suggesting longer wait.

There is another Priority Date Prediction tool offered by http://www.myprioritydate.com/.

I am using the same PD of May 15th, 2008 and getting the result:

"Based on our mathematic calculations we estimate that your priority date may become current on: January 10, 2012.The current priority date for this preference is:November 01, 2007.

This preference has moved an average of9.32  months per year.The current fiscal year has moved7 month(s) "

So, I guess you should try both of the prediction tools and hope to get your PD current somewhere in between. For my example situation between January and March of 2012.

Use the tools and don't take them seriously! Have some fun.

Is the December 2011 VISA Bulletin out?

Well the question of the day is whether the December 2011 VISA Bulletin is out! We all like to see some great movements may by up to six months in the upcoming bulletin. But wait, it has not been released yet. If you go back and look into the statistics, the bulletin comes out anytime between the 5th and 11th day of the month. This is November 7th. So, wait for 4 more days and you will know for sure.

Good Luck EB2 and EB3 guys.

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:

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

EB3 Priority Dates

Date	India	China	Mexico
Nov 2011	Jul 22nd, 02	Aug 24th, 04	Dec 22nd, 05
Oct 2011	Jul 15th, 02	Aug 8th, 04	Dec 8th, 05
Sep 2011	Jul 8th, 02	Jul 8th, 04	Nov 1st, 05
Aug 2011	Jun 1st, 02	Jul 8th, 04	Nov 1st, 05
Jul 2011	May 1st, 02	Jul 1st, 04	Jul 1st, 05
Jun 2011	Apr 22nd, 02	May 15th, 04
May 2011	Apr 15th, 02	Apr 15th, 04
Apr 2011	Apr 8th, 02	Mar 1st, 04
Mar 2011	Mar 15th, 02	Jan 22nd, 04
Feb 2011	Feb 22nd, 02	Jan 1st, 04
Jan 2011	Feb 1st, 02	Dec 15th, 03
Dec 2010	Jan 22nd, 02	Dec 8th, 03
Nov 2010	Jan 22nd, 02	Nov 22nd, 03
Oct 2010	Jan 15th, 02	Nov 8th, 03
Sep 2010	Jan 1st, 02	Oct 22nd, 03
Aug 2010	Jan 1st, 02	Sep 22nd, 03
Jul 2010	Nov 22nd, 01	Aug 15th, 03
Jun 2010	Oct 22nd, 01	Jun 22nd, 03
May 2010	Oct 1st, 01	Apr 22nd, 03
Apr 2010	Sep 8th, 01	Feb 1st, 03
Mar 2010	Jul 1st, 01	Dec 15th, 02
Feb 2010	Jun 22nd, 01	Sep 22nd, 02
Jan 2010	Jun 22nd, 01	Aug 1st, 02

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_date