USCIS FB I-485 & I-130 Processing Statistics As Of 10/31/13

Please see below latest FB (family based) statistics released by USCIS:

USCIS I-130 - Preference Category Processing Statistics

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	6,462	15,559	31,714
Pending but adjudication deferred	320,241	123,776	462,286
Customer action waiting	21,687	5,480	29,664
Completed	24,412	6,023	38,299
New receipts	16,138	9,662	27,582

CSC = California Service Center
VSC = Vermont Service Center 
 
USCIS FB I-485 Processing Statistics

USCIS EB I-485 & I-140 Processing Statistics As Of 10/31/13

USCIS EB I-140 Processing Statistics 

	TSC	NSC	National
Pending	7,164	1,367	8,573
Customer Action Wait	993	3,020	4,013
Completed	2,551	2,151	4,704
New Receipt	3,142	2,175	5,317

The number of completed cases in most categories decreased at both NSC and TSC in the last one month. Overall the volume has decreased across most categories in both service center.

USCIS EB I-485 Processing Statistics

USCIS News

1. USCIS Offices will be closed on December 25 and also on January 1.

Field Office and International Office Closures
If You	Then
Have an appointment for an interview and the USCIS office you have been scheduled for is closed,	USCIS will automatically reschedule you for an interview as soon as possible.
Scheduled an InfoPass appointment and the USCIS office you have been scheduled for is closed	You will need to schedule a new appointment on your own.

ASC Closures
If ASC	Then  We	Note
Is closed temporarily on the day of your Biometrics appointment for an unforeseen circumstance such as inclement weather or a power outage;	Will automatically reschedule all applicants to the next available appointment date	. If you would prefer to come in once the office reopens we will process walk-ins on a case-by-case basis; however, the ASC may experience multiple walk-ins on the days following a closure and you may experience longer wait times.
Has closed until further notice and the reopen date is not known	Will automatically reschedule your appointment to the nearest ASC for processing based on your ZIP code	This will continue until the ASC has confirmed a reopening date.

EB2 India: FY 2014 Movement

If you missed the original two part blog post about EB2 India, please see below:

Part 1: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/06/eb2-india-prediction-2013-2014.html
Part 2: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/06/eb2-india-prediction-2013-2014-part2.html

Here is the expected visa bulletin movement for fiscal year 2014 for EB2 India.

February 2014: 15 Nov 2004
March 2014: 15 Nov 2004
April 2014: 15 Nov 2004
May 2014: 15 Nov 2004
June 2014: 15 Nov 2004
July 2014 - September 2014: Around February 2009

Why is the dates going to stay at this date till around June 2014? The main reason is the supply of visa numbers are fixed by congress to around 2800 per country per year in EB2 category. This comes out to 2800/12 = 233 visas per month for EB2 India.

Though the supply of visa numbers is fixed, the demand is not. Due to EB3 to EB2 porting (where people in EB3 category can "upgrade" to EB2), there continues to be high demand for EB2 visas.

Multiple Immigration Update

1. USCIS reminder that both the Form I-526 and the Form I-824 were recently revised. Previous version of the I-526 will not be accepted after 12/16/13, and previous version of the I-824 will not be accepted after 12/23/13.

2. DOS revised the Visa Bulletin for January 2014. Only changes were made to the February diversity visa immigrant category cut-off dates (Section C).

3. CBP final rule expands the definition of “family members residing in one household” to include “domestic relationships” which will allow more U.S. returning residents and non-resident visitor families to be eligible to file a single customs declaration.

February 2014 Visa Bulletin Predictions

October 2013 Visa Bulletin: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/09/visa-bulletin-october-2013.html

November 2013 Visa Bulletin: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/10/visa-bulletin-november-2013.html

December 2013 Visa Bulletin http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/11/december-2013-visa-bulletin.html

For January 2014 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/12/january-2014-visa-bulletin.html

For February 2014 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2014/01/february-2014-visa-bulletin.html

Please see February 2014 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based):

Quick Summary:

• EB1, EB4, EB 5: Current
• EB2 Rest Of World: Current
  EB2 China: 5 weeks (still behind EB3 China)
  EB2 India: 0 day. Please see article
• EB3 (ROW, China, Mexico): 2-5 months. Please see article.
  EB3 India: 0 day
  EB3 Philippines: 3-5 weeks
• FB categories: 1-5 weeks. Please see article.
• F2A: 0 day. It is likely to remain at this date for next few months.

Please Note: These numbers do not include the 10,000 additional unused visas from FB category to EB category.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01JAN07	01JAN07	01JAN07	01OCT93	22JUL01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	01JUL06	01JUL06	01JUL06	15APR94	22MAY03
F3	08MAY03	08MAY03	08MAY03	08JUN93	08FEB93
F4	22OCT01	22OCT01	22OCT01	08NOV96	08AUG90

Employment Based:

January 2014 Visa Bulletin Analysis

For January 2014 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/12/january-2014-visa-bulletin.html

Please see below analysis of January 2014 Visa Bulletin:

EB1: All EB1 categories are current and should continue to remain current for fiscal year. Demand continues to be around 1000-1200 every month.

EB2 ROW: This category continues to remain current. Demand in EB2ROW continues to be very low at an average of around 300 per month. This is good news for EB2 India and China, as they could get a higher spillover in FY 2014.

EB2 China: As expected, EB2 China also moved forward by 4 weeks. It should continue to move forward around 3 to 5 weeks per month. It will still be behind EB3 China which is ahead by more than 3 years.

EB2 India: There was no change in EB2 India movement. As we had mentioned earlier, there was huge retrogression in EB2 India due to large amount of porting from EB3 India to EB2 India. We will be adding a new blog exclusive to EB2 India movement in fiscal year 2014. Till then, please see this blog post for updates in EB2 (India, ROW and China) category.

January 2014 Visa Bulletin

For December 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/11/december-2013-visa-bulletin.html

For January 2014 Demand Data, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/12/january-2014-demand-data.html

January 2014 Visa Bulletin bulletin has been officially released. Please see below for more details.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Charge -ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	08DEC06	08DEC06	08DEC06	22SEP93	01JUL01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	01JUN06	01JUN06	01JUN06	01APR94	01MAY03
F3	15APR03	15APR03	15APR03	01JUN93	01FEB93
F4	01OCT01	01OCT01	01OCT01	01NOV96	01JUL90

Employment Based:

January 2014 Demand Data

Demand data is used by DOS to calculate the monthly visa bulletin dates. If you are not familiar with demand data, please see this article: What is Demand Data?

Update: Department of State did not release the January 2014 Demand Data.

EB2 India: As many of you know, due to huge demand from EB3 India porting to EB2 India, USCIS had to stop allocating visas to EB2 India category from November 20.  The demand data should include these porting cases, if they have been preadjudicated.

Currently the cases are been counted twice in both EB3 and EB2 category (since they do not have a system to accurately track various porting cases). Please see article.

EB3 ROW: The  real demand for EB3 ROW/Mexico/China should start showing up in the I-485 pending inventory. However since VB dates keep moving forward and visa is available, not all cases would appear in the January demand data. This is because demand data only contains preadjudicated cases (and CP cases).

Currently it takes about 4+ months to process I-485 and preadjudicate case. Hence demand data for these categories could appear to be low, though dates have moved by 3+ years.

The most accurate data would show up in the I-485 pending inventory. However the latest version has data only till October 1.

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USCIS US Citizen I-129F, I-130 & I-485 Processing Statistics AS Of 09/30/13

Please see below latest US Citizen Beneficiary Statistics released by USCIS:

USCIS I-130 - Immediate Relative Category Processing Statistics:

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	3,190	11,925	357,511
Customer action waiting	1,567	965	2,532
Completed	1,315	581	24,769
New receipts	74	50	41,766

CSC = California Service Center 
VSC = Vermont Service Center 
    
USCIS I-129F Processing Statistics:

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	4,081	2,172	16,003
Customer action waiting	1,953	1,013	2,966
Completed	2,587	1,927	7,539
New receipts	1,569	22	3,722

USCIS I-485 Processing Statistics: 

USCIS EB I-485 & I-140 Processing Statistics As Of 09/30/13

USCIS EB I-140 Processing Statistics

	TSC	NSC	National
Pending	6,249	929	7,216
Customer action waiting	1,051	3,198	4,249
Completed	3,216	2,075	5,291
New receipts	2,687	1,783	4,470

The number of completed cases decreased at both NSC and TSC in the last one month. Overall the volume  has decreased across most categories in both service center.

USCIS EB I-485 Processing Statistics

USCIS FB I-485 & I-130 Processing Statistics As Of 09/30/13

Please see below latest FB (family based) statistics released by USCIS:

USCIS I-130 - Preference Category Processing Statistics

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	4,643	14,626	36,328
Pending but adjudication deferred	336,085	121,299	475,281
Customer action waiting	14,895	4,867	21,471
Completed	21,041	4,108	31,659
New receipts	14,137	11,275	28,300

CSC = California Service Center
VSC = Vermont Service Center 
 
USCIS FB I-485 Processing Statistics

PERM Processing Statitics As Of September 30, 2013

EB Category To Receive 10,000 Additional Visas From FB Category In Fiscal Year 2014

Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000.

Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.

For fiscal year 2013 (which ended on September 2013), family based categories were allotted a quota of  226,000. However due to lower demand and also delay in moving dates forward, around 10,000 visas were unused in the family based category.

According to law, any unused visas from family category will flow to employment based category. This means EB category will be getting an additional 10,000 visas in fiscal year 2014 (October 2013 to September 2014).

Currently according to demand data, the annual limit is set at 148,000 (instead of usual 140,000). However according to  Annual Numerical Limits for Fiscal Year 2014, the limit is set at 150,000 for EB categories. Since the annual numerical limit document is more recent, we will assume that the spillover is 10,000 (instead of 8,000).

Visa Bulletin Prediction For Fiscal Year 2014

Charles Oppenheim met with several lawyers from American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on October 23, 2013. In this meeting he gave his prediction for visa bulletin movement for fiscal year 2014.

Charles Oppenheim explained that the demand for visa numbers is greater because of multiple dependents being added (many primary beneficiaries have married and have children). For example, approximately 45% of the visa numbers are used by the primary beneficiaries with the remaining 55% taken up by derivative beneficiaries (spouses and children).

He also explained that the number of EB3 to EB2 porting cases is very significant and because the mechanics of the EB3 to EB2 porting system does not allow advance notification to the Department of State’s Visa Office. This causes a significant number of EB3 to EB2 porting cases to appear without advance warning to the Visa Office and, as a result, the Visa Office has to hold cutoff dates back to accommodate such porting case.

As an example, Mr. Oppenheim cited that between October 1 and October 22nd his office noted that there were around 820 Indian nationals who ported from EB3 to EB2. In addition to EB3 to EB2 porting cases for Indian nationals, who are the majority of such cases, he sees an increasing number of EB3 to EB2 porting cases from ROW category.

Mr. Oppenheim suggested that the EB1 and EB5 categories are relatively popular this year and expects more numbers to be used in these categories, compared to the past years. He cited EB5 China category where the demand has been growing steadily (approximately 15% over the year before) and that a cutoff date for EB5 China is possible later this fiscal year (possibly around June 2014).

This high demand also means that there will be less spillovers to other categories such as EB2 India and China which would further contribute to the slow forward movement in these categories.

Mr. Oppenheim shared that his goal is to advance the cutoff dates more at the beginning of the fiscal year (October, November and December, and January visa bulletins) and then, as he is able to gauge demand for a particular preference category, adjust accordingly by either slowing down or retrogressing (if demand is high) or advancing even more (is demand turns out to be low). 

Visa Bulletin Predictions – Employment-Based

EB1: This category is expected to remain current throughout the fiscal year.

EB2 ROW: This category is expected to remain current throughout the fiscal year; however, depending on demand he may introduce a cutoff date towards the end of the fiscal year.

EB2 China: This category is expected to continue to move forward by approximately 3-5 weeks per month in each Visa Bulletin.

EB2 India: EB2 India is expected to retrogress significantly by few years and remain at that date until the summer of 2014. The rationale behind this severe retrogression in EB-2 India is that there is simply too much demand in this category and the Visa Office has to stop the rate of new filings until USCIS and DOS are able to approve the pending case.

EB3 ROW, Mexico and China: This category is expected to move forward significantly over the next one or two months to stimulate demand for the next several months.

Annual Numerical Limits FY 2014

Department of State have released the quota for EB and FB category for fiscal year 2014.

Family Category:

Preference     Foreign State     Worldwide
F1                   1,638                   23,400
FX                                              65,950
F2A                 6,151                   21,984
F2B                 1,838                   26,266
F3                   1,638                   23,400
F4                   4,555                   65,000
__________________________________
Total              15,820                226,000

Unused numbers can “fall-down” from F1 to F2A to F2B to F3 to F4.

Unused F4 numbers can “fall-up” to F1. This potential is taken into consideration when setting the monthly/annual targets for number use. Those targets are established based on the historical and current patterns of number use, and are adjusted as necessary.

January 2014 Visa Bulletin Predictions

For December 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/11/december-2013-visa-bulletin.html

For January 2014 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/12/january-2014-visa-bulletin.html

Please see January 2014 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based):

Quick Summary:

• EB1, EB4, EB 5: Current
• EB2 Rest Of World: Current
  EB2 China: 5 weeks (still behind EB3 China)
  EB2 India: 0 day. Please see article
• EB3 (ROW, China, Mexico): 4-6 months. Please see article.
  EB3 India: 0 day
  EB3 Philippines: 4 weeks
• FB categories: 1-5 weeks. Please see article.
• F2A: 0 day. It is likely to remain at this date for next few months.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15DEC06	15DEC06	15DEC06	01OCT93	01AUG01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	22MAY06	22MAY06	22MAY06	15APR94	15APR03
F3	22MAR03	22MAR03	22MAR03	08JUN93	01FEB93
F4	15SEP01	15SEP01	15SEP01	08NOV96	22JUN90

Employment Based: 

Analysis - December 2013 Visa Bulletin

For December 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/11/december-2013-visa-bulletin.html

Please see below analysis of December 2013 Visa Bulletin:

EB1: All EB1 categories are current and should continue to remain current for fiscal year Demand is increasing at rate of around 1000-1200 every month.

EB2 ROW: This category continues to remain current. Demand in EB2ROW is very low at an average of around 300 per month. This is good news for EB2 India and China, as they could get a higher spillovers in FY 2014 compared to FY 2013.

EB2 China: As expected, EB2 China also moved forward by 4 weeks. It should continue to move forward around 3 to 5 weeks per month. It will still be behind EB3 China which is ahead by nearly 3 years.

EB2 India: As we had mentioned earlier, there was huge retrogression in EB2 India due to large amount of porting from EB3 India to EB2 India. We will be adding a new blog exclusive to EB2 India movement in fiscal year 2014. Till then, please see this blog post for updates in EB2 (India, ROW and China) category.

Note: The November EB2 India demand data does not have demand break down from year 2005 to 2008. It only says that the demand prior to Jan 2009 is 9,000.

USCIS Visa Bulletin Prediction For January 2014 - March 2014

For December 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/11/december-2013-visa-bulletin.html

Department of State (DOS) added their prediction for visa bulletin in coming months. Please see the link below.

We will be adding a separate blog post for visa bulletin prediction for fiscal year 2014.

FAMILY-sponsored categories (potential monthly movement)

Worldwide dates:

• F1:  Three to five weeks

• F2A: No forward movement, the Mexico cut-off date is likely to retrogress at some point

• F2B: Three to five weeks

• F3:  Three to five weeks

• F4:  Two or three weeks

EMPLOYMENT-based categories (potential monthly movement)

Employment First:  Current

Employment Second:

• Worldwide:  Current

• China:  Three to five weeks 

• India:  No forward movement

December 2013 Visa Bulletin

For November 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/10/visa-bulletin-november-2013.html

For analysis of December 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/11/analysis-december-2013-visa-bulletin.html

December 2013 Visa Bulletin has been released (valid from December 1 to December 31 only). Please see below for more details.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Charge -ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15NOV06	15NOV06	15NOV06	22SEP93	01JUL01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	01MAY06	01MAY06	01MAY06	01APR94	22MAR03
F3	08MAR03	08MAR03	08MAR03	01JUN93	22JAN93
F4	08SEP01	08SEP01	08SEP01	22OCT96	01JUN90

Employment Based:

December 2013 Demand Data

Update: Department of State (DOS) did not publish the December 2013 Demand Data. This is not unusual when there is large (forward or retrogression) movement in dates.

Demand data is used by DOS to calculate the monthly visa bulletin dates. If you are not familiar with demand data, please see this article: What is Demand Data?

There should not be any major changes in the December 2013 Demand Data.

EB2 India: EB2 India is expected to retrogress by more than three years in December VB. The porting from EB3 India is using up all available quota available to EB2 India (which is around 2,802 visas per year). Please see article.

Hopefully DOS decides to break down demand in EB2 categories from 2004 to 2013. Currently it only shows cumulative data prior to 2009.

EB3 ROW: The demand in EB3 ROW and Mexico is much lower. This will likely result in these two categories by move forward by 8-12 months. It should also continue to move forward by few months.

More Immigration News From USCIS

New USCIS Website: As we had posted earlier on Facebook and Twitter, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the launch of the agency’s redesigned website available in both English and Spanish. The redesigned website provides customers with a simplified and more user-friendly experience.

“This redesign demonstrates our ongoing commitment to improving the quality of service we provide,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “Throughout the past year, we have evaluated traffic on the website and listened to valuable feedback from users. Today’s launch is the result of that effort and we are confident the public will find an improved online experience.”

The USCIS website incorporates current best practices while introducing a new content management system that will improve functionality and allow for continued enhancements. Some of the improvements to the new website include better navigation menus, a tools section that helps customers complete common electronic transactions, and a more prominent search bar that produces improved results.

The home page also displays a more prominent rotating banner that highlights timely information and introduces alerts that provide important news and other customer notifications at-a-glance. In response to stakeholder feedback, USCIS has also streamlined the change of address online tool to provide an easier, more efficient process for customers.

The new and improved USCIS website is part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Web strategy to use a common content management system and consolidate the Department’s public websites. The agency plans further enhancements in the coming months.

USCIS first redesigned its website in September 2009, fulfilling the Obama administration’s commitment to offer enhanced navigation tools for the public to access immigration information and review case status.

Link: http://www.uscis.gov

Infosys to pay around $34 Million in fines for visa violations:

Infosys, the giant Indian technology outsourcing company, has agreed to pay $34 million in a civil settlement. After an investigation of more than two years, prosecutors on Wednesday will unveil the settlement as well as its accusations that Infosys “knowingly and unlawfully” brought Indian workers into the United States on business visitor visas since 2008, which avoided the higher costs and delays of a longer-term employment visa the workers should have had.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/us/indian-tech-giant-infosys-said-to-reach-settlement-on-us-visa-fraud-claims.html

How To Calculate NVC Case Number

The NVC is a facility that is responsible for processing immigrant visa applications after they have been approved by the USCIS. Each case received by the National Visa Center is assigned its case number.

1. After your I-130/I-140 petition has been approved, you can get your NVC case number from the NVC. Do this by calling the NVC at (603) 334-0700. First provide your USCIS receipt number, which is in your I-797 Notice of Action 1 (NOA1).

If your visa package has been received by the facility, either the automated voice recording or a human operator can give you your NVC case number.

 2. Write down your case number. It is a series of three letters and 10 numbers with no dashes or spaces. An example NVC case number looks like this: MNL2013524001.

3. Split the figures as follows: LLL NNNN NNN NNN, where "L" is a letter and "N" is a number.

4. Read the three letters from the left. This is the code for the U.S. consulate that has jurisdiction over the visa applicant's location. It is where you will get a visa interview. For example, "MNL" refers to the U.S. consulate in Manila.

5. Read the first four numbers following the letters. In this example it is "2013." This is the year that the NVC received the visa application.

USCIS US Citizen I-129F, I-130 & I-485 Processing Statistics As Of 08/31/13

Please see below latest US Citizen Beneficiary Statistics released by USCIS:

USCIS I-130 - Immediate Relative Category Processing Statistics:

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	3,170	12,139	338,607
Customer action waiting	1,936	1,070	3,006
Completed	1,981	906	29,089
New receipts	72	61	44,521

CSC = California Service Center 
VSC = Vermont Service Center 
    
USCIS I-129F Processing Statistics:

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	4,333	4,297	18,399
Customer action waiting	2,588	1,504	4,092
Completed	3,324	1,398	6,809
New receipts	1,585	19	4,050

USCIS I-485 Processing Statistics: 

USCIS FB I-485 & I-130 Processing Statistics As Of 08/31/13

Please see below latest FB (family based) statistics released by USCIS:

USCIS I-130 - Preference Category Processing Statistics

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	16,910	26,275	64,333
Pending but adjudication deferred	332,448	114,185	452,030
Customer action waiting	11,941	5,438	17,793
Completed	24,188	6,052	33,682
New receipts	14,454	10,991	28,143

CSC = California Service Center
VSC = Vermont Service Center 
 
USCIS FB I-485 Processing Statistics

USCIS EB I-485 & I-140 Processing Statistics As Of 08/31/13

We have updated the December 2013 Visa Bulletin predictions. Most of the changes are in EB category. Please see this link: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/10/december-2013-visa-bulletin-predictions.html

USCIS EB I-140 Processing Statistics

	TSC	NSC	National
Pending	6,195	1,131	7,373
Customer action waiting	1,239	3,208	4,447
Completed	4,096	2,056	6,156
New receipts	2,942	1,761	4,703

The number of completed cases was higher at TSC and lower at NSC in the last one month. Customer action (RFE) waiting decreased at TSC.

USCIS EB I-485 Processing Statistics

Many Cases Transferred from National Benefits Center to Service Centers

USCIS recently began transferring some cases from the National Benefits Center to the Nebraska, Texas and California Service Centers to balance overall operational workload. The affected casework includes the following form:

• I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, filed by U.S. citizens for their eligible immediate relative (spouse, child, or parent).

 Effect on Customers

If your case was transferred, USCIS will send you a notice listing the transfer date and where your case will be processed. Your original receipt number will not change and this will not further delay the processing of your case.

How to Track the Status of Your Case

We have recently updated the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov with processing times for Form I-130 cases filed by U.S. citizens for their eligible immediate relatives. Please check the processing times for your petition before inquiring about your case. Please also note that, if your case is transferred to another USCIS office, you should refer to the processing times for the office that has received your case.

You can check the status of your case at www.uscis.gov by entering your receipt number in the “Check Status” field. Additionally, you can sign up to receive automatic case status updates by email as your case is processed.

If you have not received a decision on your case within the published processing time, you may submit an inquiry using e-Request or contact the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283. For TDD hearing impaired assistance, please call 1-800-767-1833. When making any case status inquiries, you should reference your original receipt number and indicate that your case was transferred to a new location.

Immigration News Updates

Government Shutdown: As many of you know government shutdown ended on October 17. Congress decided to push out the issues about government budget and debt ceiling till Jan 2014 and Feb 2014. Republican leader said that they would not longer decide to shutdown the government to remove funding from the health care law which was passed few years ago.

All government agencies are now currently open and functioning as usual (though there could be a delay due to backlog). Many agencies including USCIS has provided relief to applicants who may have been affected by the government shutdown.

USCIS: If an H-1B, H-2A, or H-2B petitioner submits evidence establishing that the primary reason for failing to timely file an extension of stay or change of status request was due to the government shutdown, USCIS will consider the government shutdown as an extraordinary circumstance and excuse the late filing, if the petitioner meets all other applicable requirements.

Processing Time: USCIS has updated their monthly processing times for all applications currently pending at USCIS as of 08/31/2013. For I-485 application, the average processing time is 4 months. However each individual case can be faster or slower (due to many factors involved).

Updates to GC Calculator

Hey everyone, we have updated the GC Calculator with November data.

In addition, you  can now check your case status at USCIS/NVC as well as check the latest processing time from the same page.

Link: http://www.mygcvisa.com/calculator/

PS: We have also updated the GC Tracker (including follow/comment feature).

Let us know if there is anything else you would like to add to the site.

Filing a Complaint against an Immigration Lawyer

Filing a Complaint against an Immigration Lawyer

If you believe your immigration lawyer has failed to properly represent you, then you may file a complaint with the state bar where your lawyer is licensed. You may also file with the disciplinary counsel for EOIR or DHS depending on where your immigration matter was pending:

Department of Homeland Security:

Catherine M. O’Connell
Disciplinary Counsel
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
111 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Mail Stop 2121
Washington, D.C. 20529-2121
Telephone: (202) 272-1873
E-mail: DisciplinaryCounsel@uscis.dhs.gov

Executive Office for Immigration Review:

Jennifer Barnes
Disciplinary Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
U.S. Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Direct dial: (703) 305-1020
E-mail: EOIR.Attorney.Discipline@usdoj.gov

Department of State Transitions to DS-160 for K Visa Applications

Effective October 7, the DS-160 Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application will replace the DS-156 Electronic Visa Application form (EVAF), the DS-156K (Nonimmigrant Fiance Visa Application), and the paper-based DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration (parts I and II) for processing K-1 and K-2 nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applications.

This post describes the timeline for deployment and provides guidance to posts during the transition.

For K visa cases already in process at a U.S. embassy or consulate, the DS-160 is not required when, prior to October 7, 2013, one of the following situations exist:

• The K visa applicant is already scheduled for an interview.
• The K visa applicant has already been interviewed and has been requested to submit additional documentation or is pending administrative processing.
• The K visa applicant has already submitted a valid, signed, unexpired DS-156, DS-156K and/or DS-230 or received instructions to do so.

Predictions: December 2013 Visa Bulletin

For October 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/09/visa-bulletin-october-2013.html

For November 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/10/visa-bulletin-november-2013.html

Please see December 2013 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based):

Quick Summary:

• EB1, EB4, EB 5: Current
• EB2 Rest Of World: Current
  EB2 China: 4 weeks (still behind EB3 China)
  EB2 India: It is likely to retrogress from June 2008 to around Feb 2005. Please see article
• EB3 (ROW, Mexico): 8-12 months. Please see article.
  EB3 China: 2 weeks
  EB3 India: 0 day
  EB3 Philippines: 2 weeks
• FB categories: 1-4 weeks. Please see article.
• F2A: 0 day. It is likely to remain at this date for next few months.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22NOV06	22NOV06	22NOV06	01OCT93	01AUG01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	22APR06	22APR06	22APR06	22APR94	01APR03
F3	01MAR03	01MAR03	01MAR03	08JUN93	22JAN93
F4	08SEP01	08SEP01	08SEP01	08NOV96	15MAY90

Employment Based: 

Analysis: November 2013 Visa Bulletin And Demand Data

For November 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/10/visa-bulletin-november-2013.html

For November 2013 Demand Data, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/10/november-2013-demand-data.html

As many of you know FY 2013 ended on Sept 30 and FY 2014 started on Oct 1. Spillovers are typically applied in last quarter of FY. Because of this there can be large forward  movement from July to Oct VB.

Many of these forward movements continues in the next fiscal year to build pipeline of new cases. This helps Department of State get a good understanding of (future) demands.

Department of State (DOS) publishes the monthly visa bulletin and demand data.

The analysis below include November 2013 Visa Bulletin and November 2013 demand data. The latest I-485 pending inventory should be out in few weeks.

Demand data overview: The total visa available for all EB applicants in FY 2014 is 148,000 (instead of the usual 140,000). The extra 8,000 could be due to unused visas from family based category in FY 2013. We had mentioned this would happen on July 12 (link see July 12 update).

Once the extra 8,000 spillovers from FB category is confirmed from independent sources, we will write a blog post on its distribution to all EB categories.

EB1: All EB1 categories are current and should continue to remain current atleast for next 6-8 months (if not more). Demand is increasing at rate of around 1000 every month.

EB2 ROW: This category continues to remain current. Surprisingly demand in EB2ROW is actually decreasing. This is good news for EB2 India and China, as they could get a higher spillovers in FY 2014 compared to FY 2013.

EB2 China: As expected, EB2 China has started moving forward. It moved forward by 3 weeks and should continue to move forward.

EB2 India: EB2 India did not move forward in this VB. As we had written earlier, DOS is holding the dates steady to get a good estimate of porting demand from EB3 India to EB2 India, as well as demand from original EB2 India applicants who are filing for the first time.

The latest EB2 India demand data does not have demand break down from year 2005 to 2008. It only says that the demand prior to Jan 2009 is 9,000. We will have  to wait for I-495 pending inventory to get a good estimate of demand by each year.

Please see this blog post for future updates in EB2 (India, ROW and China) category.

Visa Bulletin November 2013

For October 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/09/visa-bulletin-october-2013.html

For November 2013 Demand Data, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/10/november-2013-demand-data.html

November 2013 Visa bulletin has been released (valid from November 1 to November 30 only). Please see below for more details.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Charge -ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22OCT06	22OCT06	22OCT06	22SEP93	01JUL01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	22MAR06	22MAR06	22MAR06	01APR94	01MAR03
F3	08FEB03	08FEB03	08FEB03	01JUN93	08JAN93
F4	22AUG01	22AUG01	22AUG01	22OCT96	22APR90

Employment Based:

November 2013 Demand Data

Demand data is used by Department of State (DOS) to calculate the monthly visa bulletin dates. If you are not familiar with demand data, please see this article: What is Demand Data?

Demand Data for November 2013 Visa Bulletin has been released. Please see details below:

As most of you know, DOS did not publish the August 2013, September 2013 and October 2013 Demand Data.

U.S Government Shutdown And How It Affects You

As many of you know, Republicans and Democrats could not agree on budget by Sept 30. This means that US Government will officially shutdown on 12:01 AM ET on October 1. But no need to worry. The entire government will not shutdown immediately.

There are plans to keep core government running even after the shutdown occurs. You can read some of the plans in the link below:

1. Department of State: http://www.state.gov/m/rls/2013/214880.htm

2. Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Contingency Plans: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plans

3. Office of Foreign Labor Certification: http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/

4. CNN has a good article on how shutdown will affect life: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/23/politics/government-shutdown-daily-life/index.html

Specific Groups:

USCIS US Citizen I-129F, I-130 & I-485 Processing Statistics As Of 07/31/13

For EB (employment based) statistics, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/09/uscis-eb-i-485-i-140-processing.html

For FB (family based) statistics, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/09/uscis-fb-i-485-i-130-processing.html

Please see below latest US Citizen Beneficiary Statistics released by USCIS as of 07/31/13:

USCIS I-130 - Immediate Relative Category Processing Statistic:

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	3,981	12,525	319,682
Customer action waiting	2,397	1,184	3,581
Completed	1,963	836	30,581
New receipts	73	61	46,042

CSC = California Service Center 
VSC = Vermont Service Center 
    
USCIS I-129F Processing Statistics:

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	6,739	8,405	20,743
Customer action waiting	1,824	2,091	3,915
Completed	2,545	1,758	7,061
New receipts	1,567	1,498	3,838

USCIS I-485 Processing Statistics:

Employment-Based Quota Limit Reached for FY2013

The State Department has confirmed to AILA liaison that employment annual limits have been reached, as is often the case at the end of a fiscal year.

USCIS will continue to process pending adjustment cases, and is able to submit visa number requests for all cases which are being finalized. The State Department will place requests in a “Pending Demand” file.

Eligible cases which have been submitted to the State Department that are within the October cut-off dates will be automatically authorized effective October 1, 2013.

USCIS FB I-485 & I-130 Processing Statistics As Of 07/31/13

For EB (employment based) statistics, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/09/uscis-eb-i-485-i-140-processing.html

Please see below latest FB (family based) statistics released by USCIS:

USCIS I-130 - Preference Category Processing Statistics as of 07/31/2013

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	4,823	14,933	27,296
Pending but adjudication deferred	357,201	134,200	498,210
Customer action waiting	9,453	4,536	13,993
Completed	20,642	4,152	26,848
New receipts	15,098	12,659	29,116

CSC = California Service Center
VSC = Vermont Service Center 
 
USCIS FB I-485 Processing Statistics as of 07/31/2013

Updates to GC Tracker

Hey everyone, we are excited to release many updates to GC tracker. Here is a quick summary of changes, based on feedback and suggestions in the forum:

NVC Tracker: This tracker have been newly added for both employment and family based categories. Once your I-130 or I-140 application is approved and if you are outside US, you can use this tracker to track your application as it goes through NVC to local US Embassy/Consulate to interview. It also has direct link to check the status of your application.

FB I-130 Tracker: Added  two columns:

1. Case Transferred To
2. Case Transferred Date

FB I-145 Tracker: Added five columns:

1. Case Transferred To
2. Case Transferred Date
3. Interview Notice Received Date
4. Interview Date
5. Interview Location

EB/FB I-485 Trackers: We have renamed two columns and made it more clear (based on request in forum).

All Trackers:

1. Google Maps: Have you sometimes wondered where some countries are located? Now if you just hover your mouse over the country name, you will instantly see a map of that country and surrounding areas. If you click that map, it will load Google Maps where you can learn more about that country.

FAQ: National Visa Center / Consular Processing

Since many readers requested more details about consular processing steps, please see below blog post which gives step-by-step details during consular processing for NVC applicants. It also includes latest changes made by State Department on September 2013.

Update (August 2018): Please see this new link for 35+ pages about NVC/Consular processing: https://www.mygcvisa.com/nvc/overview-after-nvc-petition-approved.aspx

Note: Consular Processing applies to applicant who live/resides outside US. If applicant is inside US, they can choose to either go for Adjustment Of Status or go outside US and apply for Consular Processing.

Update (November 2014): National Visa Center No Longer Collecting Original Civil Documents: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2014/11/national-visa-center-no-longer.html

Step 1: Once your I-130/I-140 application is approved, USCIS sends it (I-797 Notice of Action) to NVC (National Visa Center). It may takes some time for NVC to receive the petition from USCIS (4-8 weeks). After receiving the petition, NVC will create a unique case number for your application.

If your PD is not current, NVC send you a letter informing you that they have received your petition from USCIS and they will hold it till the PD is current. You do not have to take any action. You will have to wait for PD to be current and then NVC will contact you (see below).

If your PD is current, please see steps below.

Step 2: NVC will send I-864 (affidavit of support) processing fee bill to the petitioner. Please also submit form DS-261 online. DS-261 form replaces paper form DS-3032 (Choice of Address and Agent form). Submit form(s) online.

Note: Starting September 1, 2013, all immigrant visa applicants will apply online using Form DS-260 (Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration). Applicants will also choose their agent online using Form DS-261 (Choice of Address and Agent). Applicants will access both forms on the web at ceac.state.gov.

These forms replace the paper DS-230 and DS-3032. The National Visa Center (NVC) may instruct some applicants who previously submitted Form DS-230 to submit Form DS-260. Only Diversity Visa and Cuban Family Reunification Parole applicants will continue to use the paper forms. If you have questions or feedback about Forms DS-260 and DS-261, contact the NVC at nvcinquiry@state.gov or 603-334-0700.

Step 3: Once you have paid I-864 fees (in step 2 above), NVC will send I-864 (affidavit of support) form to the petitioner. They can also ask you to download I-864 form from their website.

Also see FAQ for Fee Payment: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3904.html

Tip: NVC will give you one year to pay the fees. NVC will reinstate I-130 after one year, but it may require additional work.

Step 4: Completely fill out I-864 form. Attach any supporting documents and send this back to NVC (do not send it to consulate). Remember to also include the bar code sheet (if applicable).

Step 5: As soon as NVC receives form DS-261, NVC will mail Immigrant Visa (IV) bill to the agent of choice (that you wrote in step 2 above).

Step 6: Once NVC receives the Immigrant Visa (IV) fees, NVC will send Packet 3 to agent of choice. Packet 3 is also called "Instruction Package For Immigrant Visa Applicants". The content of Package 3 will vary slightly depending on the local US consulate (where applicant will be interviewed). Please see FAQ below for typical documents required for Packet 3.

USCIS EB I-485 & I-140 Processing Statistics As Of 07/31/13

USCIS EB I-140 Processing Statistics as of 07/31/2013

	TSC	NSC	National
Pending	6,428	1,295	7,769
Customer action waiting	1,646	3,208	4,854
Completed	3,290	2,495	5,785
New receipts	2,749	1,779	4,528

The number of pending I-140 applications at NSC decreased from 1,888 to 1,295 in the last one month.

USCIS EB I-485 Processing Statistics as of 07/31/2013

DACA Processing Statistics As Of 08/31/13

If you dont know what DACA is, please read FAQ for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

The following show total receipts and approvals as of 08/31/2013. This update also shows the applicants by country.

Total Received: 588,725 (July 31: 573,404, June 30: 557,412 May 30: 539,128; April 30: 515,922)
Total Accepted: 567,563 (July 31: 552,918, June 30: 537,662, May 30: 520,157; April 30: 497,960)

Approvals: 455,455 (July 30: 430,236, June 30: 400,562, May 30: 365, 237; April 30: 291,859)
Denied: 9,578 (July 30: 7,450, June 30: 5383, May 30: 3816; April 30: 2352)

The following is the trend: Total applications received continuous to show a slow-down. Total number of applications denied continue to increase; number of applications approved continue to decrease.

Data below was generated on September 10, 2013.

Tip: Click image to enlarge.

Top 10 Countries of Origin: Asian countries include India, Pakistan, Philippines and South Korea. Around 76% of total accepted are from Mexico.

Immigration News Update September 1 - 16

USCIS Seminar On Combating Scams: USCIS invites you to take part in a national stakeholder engagement on Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, at 1 p.m. (Eastern) to discuss recent immigration scams and learn how USCIS is partnering with agencies to combat this trend through the unauthorized practice of immigration law initiative.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas will open the session and be joined by agency leaders, as well as officials from the FTC and the Department of Justice, who will speak about our partnership to combat UPIL through public education, capacity building, and enforcement. In addition partners will provide information on how to identify and report common scams.

For registration and more details, please click here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=4ae23a432e301410

USCIS Extends I-693 Medical Form Validity: This policy memorandum (PM) temporarily extends the validity of civil surgeon endorsements on Form I-693 for adjustment of status and temporary residence applicants till May 31, 2014. This PM updates the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) by revising Chapter 40.1(c), (AFM Update AD13-13). The guidance contained in this PM is controlling and supersedes any prior guidance on the subject

Full Details: http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2013/September/I-693%20Extension%20PM%20REVISION%20(Effective%209-4-13).pdf

Same Sex Marriage

After decision by the Supreme Court holding that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, President Obama directed federal departments to ensure the decision and its implication for federal benefits for same-sex legally married couples are implemented swiftly and smoothly.

To that end Janet Napolitano (Secretary of Homeland Security) have directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to review immigration visa petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I am a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident in a same-sex marriage to a foreign national. Can I now sponsor my spouse for a family-based immigrant visa?
A. Yes, you can file the petition. You may file a Form I-130 (and any applicable accompanying application). Your eligibility to petition for your spouse, and your spouse’s admissibility as an immigrant at the immigration visa application or adjustment of status stage, will be determined according to applicable immigration law and will not be denied as a result of the same-sex nature of your marriage.

Q. I am a U.S. citizen who is engaged to be married to a foreign national of the same sex.  Can I file a fiancé or fiancée petition for him or her?
A2. Yes.  You may file a Form I-129F.  As long as all other immigration requirements are met, a same-sex engagement may allow your fiancé to enter the United States for marriage.

Q. My spouse and I were married in a U.S. state or a foreign country that recognizes same-sex marriage, but we live in a state that does not. Can I file an immigrant visa petition for my spouse?
A: Yes. As a general matter, the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated determines whether the marriage is legally valid for immigration purposes.  Just as USCIS applies all relevant laws to determine the validity of an opposite-sex marriage, we will apply all relevant laws to determine the validity of a same-sex marriage.

Predictions: November 2013 Visa Bulletin

For September 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/08/visa-bulletin-september-2013.html

For October 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/09/visa-bulletin-october-2013.html

For November 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/10/visa-bulletin-november-2013.html

Please see below November 2013 Visa Bulletin Predictions (for both Family Based and Employment Based):

Quick Summary:

• EB1, EB4, EB 5: Current
• EB2 Rest Of World: Current
  EB2 China: 6 weeks (still behind EB3 China)
  EB2 India: It could either stay at 15JUN08 (to generate porting demand and apply future estimated spillovers) or retrogress to around 08APR05 (date based on July demand data). Please see article
• EB3 (ROW, China, Mexico): 0 day. There is 40% chance of retrogression. Please see article.
  EB3 India: 0-2 weeks. There is 10% chance of retrogression.
  EB3 Philippines: 2 weeks.
• FB categories: 1 week to 5 weeks.  Please see article.
• F2A: 0 day. Further retrogression possible.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	21OCT06	21OCT06	21OCT06	01OCT93	01JUL01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	15MAR06	15MAR06	15MAR06	01APR94	01MAR03
F3	01FEB03	01FEB03	01FEB03	01JUN93	08JAN93
F4	15AUG01	15AUG01	15AUG01	22OCT96	22APR90

Employment Based: 

Analysis: October 2013 Visa Bulletin

For September 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/08/visa-bulletin-september-2013.html

For October 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/09/visa-bulletin-october-2013.html

As many of you know FY 2014 starts on Oct 1. USCIS does not publish real time data on actual demand by category/country. They do not publish demand data (or I485 pending inventory) for FB category. For EB category, the last demand data published was in June 2013.

Since July 2013 demand data (published in June 2013), they have not released any new numbers (except for I-485 pending inventory with July 2013 data).

EB1: All EB1 categories are current and should continue to remain current. Demand is increasing at rate of around 1000 every month. Though there is very high demand in EB1 India category, it is likely to remain current since it will receives spillover visas from other EB1 categories, also called "fall across" spillovers.

EB2 ROW: This category continues to remain current. Surprisingly demand in EB2ROW is actually decreasing. This is good news for EB2 India and China, as they could get a higher spillovers in FY 2014 compared to FY 2013.

EB2 India: EB2 India did not move at all. There was three possible date movements we had listed for EB2 India. DOS decided to go with option 2 and hold dates steady. This will help them accurately estimate porting demand (people porting from EB3 to EB2) and at the same time apply spillovers in Oct VB (instead of waiting till July VB).

The demand is EB2 India is expected to increase by few thousands as new applicants file I-485 and EB3 India applicants ports to EB2 India. Majority of these movements in EB2 India is due to 18,000 visas spillover from FB category in FY13. Movement in EB2 India in FY 2014 may not be that high if it does not receive enough spillovers.

EB2 China: As expected, EB2 China have started moving forward. It moved forward by 5 weeks and it is likely to move forward by1.5 months in next VB. Due to higher demand, EB2 China will continue to remain behind EB3 China for a while.