EB2 Green Card News

One of the ways a foreign national (alien) can become a permanent resident is through a permanent employment opportunity in the United States. There are five employment-based preference categories.

Each month, the Visa Office subdivides the annual preference and foreign state limitations specified by the INA into monthly allotments based on totals of documentarily qualified immigrant visa applicants reported at consular posts and CIS Offices, grouped by foreign state chargeability, preference category, and priority date. If there are sufficient numbers in a particular category to satisfy all reported documentarily qualified demand, the category is considered "Current." For example: If the monthly allocation target is 3,000 and there is only demand for 1,000 applicants, the category wi

The Department of State recently posted its July Visa Bulletin indicating that the cut-off date for EB-2 Worldwide, Mexico and the Philippines has regressed to Jan. 1, 2009. The June cut-off date for EB-2 Worldwide, Mexico and the Philippines is "C" for "current." This means that a cut-off date is not specified for these categories through the end of the month.

The annual limit in the EB-2 category for India and China has reached. This has been confirmed by the State Department. A notification sent to USCIS on April 11, 2012 states that no further visas for the above mentioned categories will be authorized. On the basis of cut-off dates published in the April and May Visa Bulletins USCIS will continue to accept adjustment applications.

Fact Sheet

Background

On Aug. 2, 2011, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas outlined a series of policy, operational, and outreach efforts to fuel the nation’s economy and stimulate investment.  These initiatives will allow our nation to realize the potential of current immigration laws to attract the best and brightest from around the world to invest their talents, skills, and ideas to grow the U.S. economy and create American jobs.

Questions and Answers

Q1. Where can I find the laws governing the Employment Based Second Preference (EB-2) Immigrant Visa Category?
A1. The statutory requirements may be found in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) at Section 203(b)(2).  The regulatory requirements may be found in the Title 8 Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR) at section 204.5(k).

The U.S. Department of State's Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division, has confirmed a dramatic reduction in the use of EB-1 immigrant visa numbers and the resulting favorable effect on the EB-2 category for immigrant visas chargeable to India.

DOS advised that demand for visa numbers in the EB1 category has declined significantly. Thus, approximately 12,000 unused EB1 numbers will be available to shift downward to the EB2 category, starting in May 2011.

The U.S. Consulate in Mumbai, India erroneously reported that India EB-2 is current for February 2011. Please note that is FALSE. India EB-2 is backed up to May 2006.

http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/cut_off_dates.html

According to the February 2011 Visa Bulletin EB-2 India shows a priority date of May 8, 2006.

Click here for the visa bulletin.