Each month a representative from the American Immigration Lawyers Association meets with Charlie Oppenheim, the man behind the visa bulletin curtain, to get a sense of how the priority dates may advance (or not!) in the coming months. In June's meeting, Charlie made the following observations and predictions:

• EB-1 China and India: He expects the priority date will remain at Jan 1, 2012 for the rest of the fiscal year and will become current again in October
• EB-1 Worldwide: Charlie notes that there is significant demand in this area, and predicts that he may need to establish a cut-off date for this category in August or September. If that happens, people eligible for that category will not be able file the I-485 if their priority date is not current. Therefore, if you are thinking of applying in this category and want to file the I-485 concurrently, you may consider doing that now.
• EB-2 India: The July priority date is March 15, 2009, and Charlie expects this to hold for the rest of the fiscal year. He has seen significant demand for this category.
• EB-2 Worldwide: Charlie also notes significant demand in this category, and anticipates that he may need to establish a cut off date for this category in August or September of this year. Therefore, if you are eligible to file in this category and are ready to file the I-485, you may consider doing that now, rather than waiting and assuming it will still be open later this summer or fall.
• EB-2 China and EB-3 China: Charlie notes that there have been a lot of downgrades from EB-2 to EB-3, meaning there is now a lot more demand for EB-3. As a result, China EB-2 is a full two years ahead of EB-3. He anticipates that there will be no more forward movement for China EB-3 for the rest of the year, and that the date will return to 6/1/2015 in October, when the new fiscal year starts.

Do you need assistance with a family-based or employment-based immigration matter? Please contact our office today to see how we may be able to assist you! We are immigration lawyers located in Richmond, VA but we serve clients throughout the U.S. and around the world. Please call us at 804-396-3412 or email us at info@sumnerimmigration.com. We look forward to hearing from you!