The Department of State’s October Visa Bulletin reveals a significant increase in Immigrant Visa (aka green card) availability for eligible Indian, Chinese and Filipino nationals!
What Is the Visa Bulletin?
Please refer to our July Visa Bulletin blog for an overview of how the monthly Visa Bulletin works.
What’s the Big News in the October Visa Bulletin?
Green card availability has increased significantly across employment-based categories for nationals of India, China and The Philippines. There is also increased availability for family-based categories for nationals of most countries. .
This sudden move is part of the revision of procedures for determining green card availability by USCIS and the Department of State (DOS) which implements the November 2014 executive actions on immigration announced by President Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson. It is hoped that these revisions will better align procedures, and enhance DOS’s ability to more accurately predict overall immigrant visa demand and determine the cut-off dates for visa issuance published in the Visa Bulletin. The goals: to ensure that the maximum number of immigrant visas are issued annually as intended by Congress, and to minimize month-to-month fluctuations in Visa Bulletin final action dates.
In the short term, if you have an approved Immigrant Visa Petition through an employer or family member, you may become eligible to apply for a green card at least through October 31, 2015. Dayzad Law Offices will review affected client files and then reach out shortly to plan the path to filing your green card application.
Stay tuned!