EB1 News – All EB1s Now Current

In August, we discussed the Visa Bulletin, which is the document published by the US Department of Homeland Security outlining the oversubscription of green cards, and when green cards get oversubscribed, it increases the wait times for these green cards to be issued.  We therefore have to track the Visa Bulletin each month so that we can help our clients anticipate how soon they can expect to get their green cards so they can relocate.

Priority Dates Issued in August

In August, the Visa Bulletin issued a priority date on individuals born in India and China in the 1st Preference, Employment-based category as a method to temporarily stop issuing green cards to these nationalities, as the quota was coming perilously close to oversubscription. In the August newsletter, the US Department of Homeland Security indicated that the priority dates in this preference category were expected to become current again as of October 1, 2016, which is the beginning of the new fiscal year.

Visa Bulletin for October is Now Current

True to the prediction, the recently published October Visa Bulletin is showing that all nationalities have a current green card status. What this means is that upon approval of EB1 Green Card applicants, no matter the country they were born in, are eligible to submit a green card application immediately upon approval of their Form I-140 Petition for an Immigrant Worker. This is significant news to a number of individuals who were in the process of filing for their I-140, or who had an approved I-140 but had yet to file their green cards because the August visa bulletin essentially stopped the green card process in its tracks. Now that we see a current priority date, these individuals will be able to proceed through the system and receive the green cards they deserve.

Will this happen again?

It is hard to predict whether or not this will happen again later this year. While we do have a reasonable anticipation that the priority dates for the EB1 1st Preference category will remain current for at least several months, there is always the possibility that a priority date could again be implemented. The good news is, even if a priority date is implemented again in the future, we are seeing a limit on how long it is in place. In that case, individuals born in India and China were only subject to the priority date for two months. However, this is something that will need to be monitored as the demand for green cards continues to increase. Give us a call today to see if we can secure a green card for you before the EB1 is assigned a priority date again!