State Dept. Updates Visa Availability for Remainder of Year
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for June notes that applicant demand for visa numbers, primarily for adjustment of status cases at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices, has been extremely heavy throughout the year. As a result, visa availability during the final fiscal quarter could become limited as categories approach their annual numerical limits. Therefore, the Department said, visa availability throughout the remainder of the year cannot be guaranteed and the establishment of cut-off dates, or retrogression of existing cut-off dates, cannot be ruled out. The employment-based third preference and “Other Workers” categories are unavailable for June, and are expected to remain that way until October 1, when the new federal fiscal year begins.
All other employment-based categories are Current, except for China-mainland born second preference, which has a cut-off date of February 15, 2005, and India second preference, which has a cut-off date of January 1, 2000. The Department noted that it was necessary to retrogress the India employment second preference cut-off date more than four years, from February 15, 2004, in the May Bulletin to January 1, 2000, in the June Bulletin, to keep visa issuances within the annual category numerical limit. The Department said it is unsure whether this retrogression will apply throughout the remainder of the fiscal year.
