The online registration period for the annual green card lottery will begin tomorrow, Wednesday, October 7, at 12 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT–4), and end on Tuesday, November 10 at 12 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT–5). We recommend registering as soon as possible because the DOS website slows down or freezes due to very heavy traffic towards the end of the registration period.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its October 2019 Visa Bulletin. October 1 marks the start of the new fiscal year so all the visa categories benefit from new visa numbers. As a result, most categories see sizable movement. Employment-based (“EB”) category 1 for all nationals (except for India and China) advances by six months. EB-1 for China moves forward nearly three years and EB-1 India goes from unavailable to January 1, 2015. The EB-2 category for all nationals is now current, except for China, which, unfortunately, has a two-year retrogression, and India, which advances by four days. The EB-3 category is current for all nationals except for China, which moves forward nearly two years; India, which moves forward three and a half years, and the Philippines, which moves forward by fifteen months.
Read MoreThe U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation last week that seeks to end the backlogs for green cards by eliminating the per-country cap for employment-based immigrants and raising the existing per-country cap from 7% to 15% for family-based immigrants. The elimination of per-country caps would benefit Chinese and Indian nationals in particular, who face three to ten year delays in obtaining green cards based on employment.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its August 2019 Visa Bulletin. Overall, there was significant retrogression in most categories this month. Employment-based category 1 (EB-1) for most nationals retrogressed by nearly two months, while for Chinese nationals it retrogressed by ten months, and there was no movement for Indian nationals. For the employment-based category 2 (EB-2), most nationals retrogressed by nearly two and a half years, while Chinese nationals advanced by two months, and Indian nationals advanced by only eight days. Lastly, the employment-based category 3 (EB-3) for most nationals retrogressed by nearly three years; Indian nationals retrogressed by three years and six months, but Chinese nationals moved forward by six months.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its July 2019 Visa Bulletin. Overall, there was little movement in most categories this month. For the EB-1 category, Chinese nationals advanced by 75 days while there was no advancement for EB-1 Worldwide and Indian nationals. For the EB-2 category, Chinese nationals advanced by three months while Indian nationals advanced by only five days. Lastly, EB-3 for Chinese nationals moved forward by three months and 17 days, while Indian nationals did not advance, and Philippine nationals are now current.
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its March 2019 Visa Bulletin. Overall, movement in all categories has slowed down. EB-1 for most nationals advanced by one month while Chinese and Indian nationals advanced by only fourteen days. For the EB-2 category, Chinese nationals advanced by three months while Indian nationals advanced by only three days. Lastly, EB-3 for Chinese nationals moved forward by seven days, while Indian nationals advanced by one month, and Philippine nationals advanced by four months.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its February 2019 Visa Bulletin. Overall, movement in all categories has slowed down. EB-1 for most nationals advanced by two months while Chinese and Indian nationals advanced by only one month. For the EB-2 category, Chinese nationals advanced by two months while Indian nationals advanced by only five days. Lastly, EB-3 for Chinese nationals moved forward by twenty-three days, while Indian and Philippine nationals advanced by a month and a few days.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its January 2019 Visa Bulletin. Overall, there was very little movement in most categories this month. EB-1 for all nationals advanced by three months. There was no movement for the EB-2 category, except for Chinese nationals which advanced by one month. EB-3 for Chinese and Indian nationals remained unchanged, while Philippine nationals advanced by another week.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its December 2018 Visa Bulletin. Overall, there was very little movement in most categories this month. EB-1 for all nationals advanced by three months. EB-2 worldwide is still current (except for China and lndia). EB-2 for Chinese nationals advanced by one and a half months, and EB-2 Indian nationals advanced by almost two months. EB-3 for Chinese and Philippine nationals moved forward by one week, while Indian nationals advanced by two months.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its November 2018 Visa Bulletin. Overall, there was very little movement in most categories this month. EB-1 for Chinese and Indian nationals had no movement. EB-2 worldwide is current (except for China and lndia). EB-2 for Chinese nationals advanced by one and a half months, but there was no movement for EB-2 Indian nationals. EB-3 is current (except for China, India, and the Philippines). EB-3 for Chinese and Indian nationals had no movement, but Philippine nationals moved forward by one week.
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