The State Department has released its June 2011 Visa Bulletin. As was the case last month, we again see a significant advance on EB-2 priority dates for China and India.
| Employment- Based |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | C | C | C | C |
| 2nd | C | 15OCT06 | 15OCT06 | C | C |
| 3rd | 15SEP05 | 15MAY04 | 22APR02 | 22DEC04 | 15SEP05 |
| Other Workers | 08NOV03 | 22APR03 | 22APR02 | 08NOV03 | 08NOV03 |
| 4th | C | C | C | C | C |
| Certain Religious Workers | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs |
C | C | C | C | C |
Whether this acceleration in priority dates will be sustained in the coming months remains to be seen. The State Department explains that there is an increased demand by applicants “upgrading” their category from EB-3 to EB-2, which could potentially stymie the advancement of EB-2 priority dates. Nonetheless, the impact of this increased EB-2 demand has so far been minimal. The State Department cautions that priority date cut-offs for upcoming months cannot be guaranteed and therefore no assumptions should be made. At this time, we make no changes to our prediction that decreased EB-1 applications and approval rates should advance Chinese and Indian EB-2 priority dates to late 2006, and perhaps to January 2007, by September of 2011.
