BUSINESS IMMIGRATION ALERT
A complimentary service of the McCandlish Holton Immigration Practice Group
May 2012 Visa Bulletin Shows Forward Movement in EB-3 Category, Retrogression in EB-2 Category for Foreign Nationals Born in India and Mainland China
April 9, 2012
The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) releases a monthly Visa Bulletin which governs the allocation of immigrant visas across all family- and employment-based preference categories for a given month. The May 2012 Visa Bulletin DOS released late last week was certainly a mixed bag—there was marked forward movement for almost all immigrants in the EB-3 employment-preference category, but significant retrogression in the EB-2 category for foreign nationals born in India and Mainland China.
Background
Each year, the DOS may distribute a maximum of 140,000 immigrant visa “numbers” to foreign nationals interested in becoming permanent residents of the United States based on employment here. The DOS distributes numbers according to the applicant’s country of birth and employment-based “preference category.”
The EB-3 preference category applies to most skilled workers and professionals seeking to immigrate on the basis of a job offer in the United States that requires a bachelor’s degree, or at least 2 years of experience. The EB-2 category applies to those with U.S. job offers for a position requiring a master’s degree or higher, and to those who will perform work in the U.S. national interest. The EB-1 category is reserved for multinational executives and managers, outstanding researchers or professors, and people of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, business, education, or athletics.
The date the employer files a labor certification application (or, if a labor certification is not required, when an immigrant petition is filed) is known as the “priority date.” A foreign national cannot apply or be approved for Lawful Permanent Resident status until his or her priority date becomes “current.” Only people whose priority dates come before the listed date in the appropriate category of the monthly Visa Bulletin are considered current. If a foreign national’s priority date is current according to a given monthly Visa Bulletin, he or she can apply or be approved for Lawful Permanent Residence beginning the first day of that month through the last day of that month.
The May 2012 Bulletin
In the May 2012 Visa Bulletin, the EB-3 priority date for countries other than India and mainland China jumped nearly a month, from April 8, 2006, to May 1, 2006. The date moved forward exactly one month for Chinese nationals, from March 1, 2005, to April 1, 2005. India-born EB-3 immigrants saw only a one-week progression, from September 1, 2002, to September 8, 2002.
All EB-1 and EB-2 priority dates will remain current in May except for EB-2 immigrants born in China and India, who will see frustrating retrogression back to August 15, 2007. The priority date for these individuals in the immediate prior bulletin was May 1, 2010, so this represents a retrogression of nearly three years. While this comes as bad news to many EB-2 applicants, DOS expressed its hope to move the EB-2 priority date for India and China back to May 1, 2010 as early as the October 2012 Visa Bulletin.
If you have any questions about the Visa Bulletin, the impact of retrogression, or any employment- or family-based Permanent Residence case, please contact one of the McCandlish Holton immigration attorneys below.
Mark Rhoads804-775-3824
/ Helen Konrad
804-775-3825
/ Jennifer Minear
804-775-3822
David E. Gluckman
804-775-3826
/ Jonathan L. Moore
804-775-7227
This Alert is a summary of important developments in business immigration law for clients and friends of McCandlish Holton's Immigration Practice Group. This publication does not constitute legal advice. Please consult with an attorney before acting on any information in this Alert. Information about the Immigration Practice Group and additional immigration-related information is located on our website at: www.lawmh.com/practice_areas/immigration.htm