News Update - April 12, 2010Outlook For Immigrant Visa Numbers In Family Based Cases Is Bright For Upcoming MonthsFor the month of May 2010, there is tremendous movement in family based cases and slight movement in employment based cases. Large gains were recorded in the F-11 preference for unmarried sons and daughters over the age of 21 of U.S. citizens (immigrant visa availability moving forward two months from 7/8/04 to 9/8/04 for most of the world); F-2A preference for spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 of lawful permanent residents( 6/1/06 to 12/1/06); F-2B preference for unmarried sons and daughters over the age of 21 of lawful permanent residents (3/1/02 to 7/1/02 for most of the world); F-3 preference for married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (5/22/01 to 6/8/01 for most of the world); and F-4 for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (3/1/00 to 5/15/00 for most of the world). The employment based cases did not fare as well although the categories did not back up. EB-1 for extraordinary aliens, outstanding professors/ researchers, and intracompany transferees remained current; EB-2 for those with advanced degrees or their equivalent and national interest waiver cases remained current for most of the world with China born moving from 8/22/05 to 9/22/05 and India remaining stuck at 2/1/05; EB-3 for bachelor's degree holders or persons with two years of working experiences in positions requiring at least two years of work experience moved from 2/1/03 to 4/22/03 for most of the world including China, with India moving from 9/8/01 to 10/1/01; EW-3 for unskilled workers remained stuck at 6/1/01 for most of the world; EB-4 for religious workers remained current; and the EB-5 preference for investors also remained open and available. In discussing upcoming visa availability, the Visa Office said that the demand for numbers in the family based categories for the past 15 months had been low, and so the cut-off dates for most family based categories have been advancing rapidly to generate demand so that annual numerical limits can be fully utilized. The Visa Office noted for employment based cases that demand in the 4th preference for religious worker visas remains very heavy and that a cut-off date, perhaps as early as June, would need to be established to try and keep the number used within the annual limits. † The author is a 30+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. ‡ This article © 2010 Alan Lee, Esq.
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Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee,
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