The November Visa Bulletin—issued by the U.S. Department of State—continues a positive trend started in October, which made visas available for individuals with older priority dates in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) category following five months of visa unavailability and priority date retrogression. The EB-3 category encompasses those foreign nationals in positions that require at least a bachelor’s degree or two or more years of experience.
The November Visa Bulletin also indicates continued backlogs for Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) applicants from India and China, although visas are available for EB-2 foreign nationals chargeable within the worldwide quota (which includes all other countries, except Mexico and the Philippines). The EB-2 category includes foreign nationals in positions requiring at least a master’s degree or higher.
Applicants in all preferences with a priority date that is either listed as “C” (Current) or is a date earlier than those listed below may now take further action regarding the filing of their Adjustment of Status Applications (Form I-485). These actions can include filing the Form I-485 concurrently with the Form I-140 Immigrant Visa Petition, or now filing the I-485 application if an I-140 petition was already filed and is pending. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is also able to approve the final grant of permanent residence while the priority date is current once the I-485 adjudication is completed.
The report from http://www.mondaq.com
