The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has started having regular meeting with Charlie Oppenheim, the man behind the crystal ball of the visa bulletin (he is the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS)). In these meetings, Charlie provides his insight and analysis as to what is happening with the visa bulletin, and what we may be able to expect in the near future.
In May, Charlie noted that there has been a significantly increased demand for the worldwide EB-2 category. He anticipates that the category will still remain current, but this means that the EB-2 India classification may not advance as far as he had hoped for earlier this year.
He also notes that demand for EB-2 China has been low and therefore some unused visa numbers may “fall down” to EB-3 China.
Further, he notes that there has been heavy demand for EB-3 Philippines, and this category may see “corrective action” later this year – meaning the priority dates may not advance as much as anticipated, or may actually retrogress.
Finally, based on Charlie’s analysis, we expect the FB-2A category to continue to advance rather slowly.
For more information on priority dates, please see this post.
If you need assistance with a family-based or employment-based immigration matter, please contact our office at 804-396-3412. We look forward to hearing from you!
