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Visa Bulletin for September 2016 presented by attorney Shah Peerally.

Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) Visa Limits Reached for Special Immigrants from India
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for August 2016 reflects a final action date of January 1, 2010*, for EB-4 visas for special immigrants from India. This means that starting on August 1, 2016, applicants from India who filed Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant on or after January 1, 2010, will not be able to obtain an immigrant visa or adjust status until new visas become available.

India has reached its EB-4 visa limit as congressionally mandated for fiscal year 2016, which ends September 30. Information on EB-4 visa availability for fiscal year 2017 will appear in the Department of State’s October Visa Bulletin, which will be published this September.

EB-4 visas are for special immigrants. These are individuals who may be eligible for lawful permanent resident status based on specific classifications, including Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ).

What this action means to EB-4 applicants from India:

Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant

Petitioners from any country, including India, may continue to file Form I-360. There is no annual limit on the number of Form I‑360 petitions that USCIS may approve.

Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

The final action date is January 1, 2010. This final action date will become effective August 1, 2016.

USCIS will accept all properly filed submissions of Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, under the EB-4 classification until July 31, 2016, and will continue to adjudicate applications while visas remain available.

If you file Form I-485 under the EB-4 classification on or after August 1, 2016:

We will process and make a decision on your Form I-485 only if you filed your Form I-360 petition before January 1, 2010, and your Form I-360 is ultimately approved.
We will reject and return other Form I-485 applications but will continue to process Form I-360 petitions (even if submitted together with a Form I-485 that gets rejected).
EB-4 applicants from other countries

The final action date for special immigrant applicants for adjustment of status from India, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras remains January 1, 2010.

Applicants from Mexico should refer to Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) Visa Limits Reached for Special Immigrants from Mexico.

Applicants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras should refer to Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) Visa Limits Reached for Special Immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

We will update the Employment Based Immigration: Fourth Preference EB-4 page if any other countries reach their EB-4 visa limits.

*Note: According to the Department of State’s July 2016 Visa Bulletin: “Readers should be aware that the establishment of the Employment Fourth preference Final Action date of January 1, 2010 does not mean that applicants are now subject to a wait in excess of six years. That Final Action Date is intended only to stop any further use of numbers by applicants from those countries under the FY-2016 annual limit, not to indicate how long it will be before applicants will be eligible for final action.”

http://bit.ly/august2016visabulletin
The August 2016 Visa Bulletin is seeing a horrible retrogression for all including China EB1 and EB2 all categories. This is not great news, watch our analysis.

"D. OVERSUBSCRIPTION OF THE INDIA EMPLOYMENT-BASED FOURTH (E4) AND CERTAIN RELIGIOUS WORKERS (SR) PREFERENCE CATEGORIES

As readers were advised in the May Visa Bulletin number 92, there has been extremely high demand in the E4 and SR categories, primarily for Juvenile Court Dependent cases filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for adjustment of status. Pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, this has now required the implementation of E4 and SR Application Final Action Dates for India, which has reached its per-country limit. This action will allow the Department to hold worldwide number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2016 annual limits.

The India E4 and SR dates will become CURRENT for October.

E. OVERSUBSCRIPTION OF THE CHINA AND INDIA EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIRST (E1) PREFERENCE CATEGORIES

Readers were advised in item F of the July Visa Bulletin number 94, that it would be necessary to impose a date for these two countries no later than September. The continued high level of demand for E1 numbers for USCIS adjustment of status applicants has required the establishment of a date for August. This has been done in an attempt to hold number use within the Worldwide E1 annual limit. The E1 date for these two countries will once again become CURRENT for October, the first month of fiscal year 2017.

F. OVERSUBSCRIPTION OF THE WORLDWIDE, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, MEXICO, AND PHILIPPINES EMPLOYMENT-BASED SECOND (E2) PREFERENCE CATEGORIES

Readers were advised in item F of the July Visa Bulletin number 94, that it was likely that a date would be imposed by September. Continued high demand for numbers for USCIS adjustment of status applicants has required the establishment of a date for August. This action has been required to hold number use within the Worldwide E2 annual limit. The date for these countries will once again become CURRENT for October, the first month of fiscal year 2017.

G. VISA AVAILABILITY

Number use in the Worldwide F2A and F3 preference categories has increased dramatically, and is quickly approaching those fiscal year 2016 annual limits. Therefore, it may be necessary to retrogress those final application dates for the month of September. Any retrogression in the F2A and F3 preference categories would be temporary, with those dates returning to the latest reached during FY-2016 when the October dates are announced."



Information provided are for educational purposes only. You should not act or refrain to act solely on the information provided. No attorney-client relationship is created by this video. Attorney reserves the right to refuse the case. If you have any questions, feel free to call (510) 742 5887

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