As of today, foreign nationals in the EB-3 preference category may file an AOS application, or obtain approval of an immigrant visa application at an American embassy or consulate abroad, provided their priority dates are before these cutoff dates specified by the DOS.

.         Breakdown of June 2007 EB-2 Priority Date Cut-Off Dates

For June 2007, the relevant cut-off dates for Indian and Chinese nationals in the EB-2 category have moved forward as follows:

As of today, foreign nationals from India and China in the EB-2 preference category may file an AOS application, or obtain approval of an immigrant visa application at an US embassy or consulate abroad, provided their priority dates are before these cutoff dates specified by the DOS.

Priority date cut-offs for foreign nationals born in all other countries in the EB-2 category, and all foreign nationals in the EB-1 category remains current.

How This Affects You

After many months of little or no movement in most categories, there is finally significant forward movement in priority date cut-offs for all categories. A continued forward trend should not be assumed, however, as priority date cut-offs are assessed on a monthly basis by the DOS based on anticipated demand. Cut-off dates can move forward, backward, or remain static.

Employers and employees should take account of any immigrant visa backlogs in their long-term  planning. 

To view the June 2007 Visa Bulletin in its entirety, please visit the U.S. Department of State website (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3236.html).