More PERM, H-1B and H-2B Statistics - FY 2013

National Prevailing Wage Center– Select Statistics, FY 2013 YTD

H1B Specialty Occupations Statistics - FY 2013

H-1B Specialty Occupations Labor Condition Program - Selected Statistics, FY 2013 YTD

USCIS US Citizen I-129F, I-130 & I-485 Processing Statistics As Of 06/30/13

For EB (employment based) statistics, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/08/uscis-eb-i-485-i-140-processing.html

For FB (family based) statistics, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/08/uscis-fb-i-485-i-130-processing.html

Please see below latest US Citizen Beneficiary Statistics released by USCIS as of 06/30/13:

USCIS I-130 - Immediate Relative Category Processing Statistic:

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	4,722	12,687	299,942
Customer action waiting	2,549	1,440	3,989
Completed	4,722	1,114	29,484
New receipts	63	51	44,656

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

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	7,998	10,934	23,701
Customer action waiting	1,953	2,218	4,171
Completed	2,103	1,527	4,645
New receipts	1,513	1,806	3,611

USCIS I-485 Processing Statistics:

USCIS Webinars For Overseas Applicants

Customers who receive an immigrant visa packet at an overseas U.S. Embassy or Consulate must pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee in order to receive a Permanent Resident Card (commonly referred to as a Green Card) in the United States.

On May 19, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) incorporated the payment process for the USCIS Immigrant Fee into USCIS ELIS, the USCIS Electronic Immigration System.

If you are not familiar with ELIS, please see this link: http://www.uscis.gov/uscis-elis

Payment of the USCIS Immigrant fee in USCIS ELIS allows them to better serve customers by simplifying and centralizing the payment process and by providing customers with up to date and detailed processing status information.

USCIS will host a series of webinars to inform customers how to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee in USCIS ELIS and to answer questions about the system. All times are Eastern Time (UTC - 5 hours).

Date	Time
Tuesday, August 27	9:30-10:30 a.m. ET
Tuesday, August 27	3-4 p.m. ET
Wednesday, August 28	3-4 p.m. ET

To Participate in a Session:

The webinars are free and open to the public, but each webinar is limited to the first 125 registrants.

Contest # 3 - Home Country Yummy Recipes

Hey everyone, since we have visitors from over 180 countries around the world, we decided to create a different contest this time.

All you have to do is post a yummy recipe from your home country (or any other country) around the world.

Simple rules:

1. Recipes should be quick and easy to prepare. Total cooking time:  0 - 45 minutes.
2. Ingredients should not be very hard to find
3. You can post any number of yummy recipes as you want. The more you post, higher is the chance of winning the prize.
4. Please remember to list all ingredients and steps to prepare the recipes.

Tips:

1. The earlier you post the recipe, more people can see it and vote on it (by clicking on "Thank" button).
2. People tend to vote on recipe which have pictures attached to it (instead of just text).
3. Make sure people can easily follow the steps to make the recipe. By making it easier for people to follow the recipe, you may get more votes. You can also add picture for each steps if you like.

USCIS FB I-485 & I-130 Processing Statistics As Of 06/30/13

For EB (employment based) statistics, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/08/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 06/30/2013

	CSC	VSC	National
All Other Pending	4,399	14,842	25,212
Pending but adjudication deferred	365,308	128,805	500,297
Customer action waiting	7,387	4,009	11,598
Completed	18,462	3,313	23,379
New receipts	12,912	10,765	24,757

CSC = California Service Center
VSC = Vermont Service Center 
 
USCIS FB I-485 Processing Statistics as of 06/30/2013

USCIS EB I-485 & I-140 Processing Statistics As Of 06/30/13

USCIS EB I-140 Processing Statistics as of 06/30/2013

	TSC	NSC	National
Pending	6,363	1,888	8,298
Customer action waiting	1,337	3,225	4,562
Completed	3,597	2,950	6,547
New receipts	2,878	1,778	4,656

USCIS EB I-485 Processing Statistics as of 06/30/2013

DACA Processing Statistics As Of 07/31/13

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 07/31/2013. This update also shows the applicants by country.

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

Approvals: 430,236 (June 30: 400,562, May 30: 365, 237; April 30: 291,859)
Denied: 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; however in last 3 month, the USCIS approved around 117,000 applications and around 254,000 in last 6 months.

Data below was generated on August 8, 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.

Predictions: October 2013 Visa Bulletin

For July 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/06/july-2013-visa-bulletin.html

For August 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/07/visa-bulletin-august-2013.html

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

Please see below October 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: 3 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. Please see article.
  EB3 India: 0-2 weeks. There is 40% chance of retrogression.
  EB3 Philippines: 0-2 week. There is 40% chance of retrogression.
• FB categories: 1 week to 4 months Please see article.
• F2A: It is likely to retrogress to around May 2012 to Nov 2012.

Please Note: These numbers do not include the 18,000 additional unused visas from FB category to EB category. USCIS have to use them up by September 30. All annual quota will reset back on Oct 1. EB category will have 140,000 and FB category will have 226,000. October 2013 Visa Bulletin is valid from October 1.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15OCT06	15OCT06	15OCT06	15SEP93	22AUG01
F2A	01MAY12 - 08NOV12 (see notes below)
F2B	22MAR06	22MAR06	22MAR06	15MAR94	22FEB03
F3	15FEB03	15FEB03	15FEB03	22MAY93	08JAN93
F4	15AUG01	15AUG01	15AUG01	22OCT96	15MAR90

Employment Based: 

September 2013 Visa Bulletin Analysis

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

For October 2013 Visa Bulletin Predictions, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/08/october-2013-visa-bulletin-predictions.html 

As many of you know FY 2013 ends on Sept 30. FY 2014 starts on Oct 1. Spillovers are typically applied in last quarter of FY. Because of this there can be large forward  movement and then retrogression between July and Oct VB. Date can swing wildly in either direction based on actual demand. USCIS does not publish real time data on actual demand by category/country.

The analysis below include Sept 2013 Visa Bulletin and I-485 pending inventory (with data as of 07/17/13).

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. There is a small possibility of EB1 India retrogressing next year.

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 moved forward by around 5 months. The dates moved forward by two more months than previously estimated due to (1) lower demand in EB1 category and (2) lower demand from EB2 ROW in the last two months.

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:EB2 China again did not move forward. Most of the EB spillovers was consumed by EB2 India. It seems that EB2 China has nearly used up its annual quota and EB spillovers. It should start moving forward in Oct VB.

Visa Bulletin September 2013

For August 2013 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/07/visa-bulletin-august-2013.html

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

September 2013 Visa bulletin have been released (valid from September 1 to September 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	15SEP06	15SEP06	15SEP06	08SEP93	08MAY01
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	15FEB06	15FEB06	15FEB06	22FEB94	22JAN03
F3	22JAN03	22JAN03	22JAN03	15MAY93	22DEC92
F4	22JUL01	22JUL01	22JUL01	08OCT96	15FEB90

Employment Based:

September 2013 Demand Data

It looks like Department of State (DOS) has again decided not to publish the September 2013 Demand Data. As most of you know, DOS also did not publish the August 2013 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?

September demand data would be VERY important for all EB categories (which are currently  retrogressed).

September is the last month in FY 2013. All 158,000 (140,000 + 18,000 spillover from FB category) visas should be used up this month. Typically DOS moves dates forward in July/Aug VB and then slows down (or stops) forward movement in Sept VB; so that visas do not exceed the annual quota.

EB2 India: EB2 India finally moved forward in Aug VB. Expected spillovers to EB2 India is between 12,000 to 14,000 visas. So far we have confirmed report of PD of May 2008 receiving GC on Aug 6 (with reports of even June 2008 receiving approval). For those not familiar, EB2 India did not moved at all since last October. Please see article.

EB3 ROW: If EB2 India/China is not able to use up all spillovers, it will flow to EB3 categories.If that happens dates would start moving forward in EB3 categories (ROW, China and Mexico)

It looks likes EB2 China and EB3 India has already used up its annual quota and any expected spillovers. So any forward date movement in EB2 China and EB3 categories would depend on EB2 India spillover usage; which directly depends on this demand data.

Based on July 2013 demand data, EB2 India has a huge amount of preadjudicated cases. So it will be very easy to consume all of these spillovers (especially from people porting from EB3 India to EB2 India who have already filed I485 applications).

Website Feature # 5 - GC Tracker

Hey everyone, we have just launched GC Tracker after working on it for long time.

GC tracker will help you to quickly track your case and your friends cases from start to finish.

Here are some of the important features:

EB =  Employment Based Category. FB = Family Based Category.

1. You can add just EB or just FB or both EB and FB category from same account. The last option assumes you have two pending cases in different category.
2. You can add your USCIS/NVC receipt number in the case status. With just a simple click you can track your case status on USCIS/NVC website. Also last three digit of case number is hidden from everyone else. They will only see *** instead of last three digits. This way your full receipt number is secure/hidden from others but fully visible to you.
3. You can add or modify your case anytime.
4. You can add/edit each individual application. This way if you have only filed I-130 or I-140 application, you only have to fill and submit that data.
5. At a glance you can see processing time for each of your (or others) applications.
6. You have tons of way to filter you data.
7. Similarly you have lots of way (fields) to sort the data (ascending or descending).
8. For I-485/NVC application, you can even filter by applicants by filing month and year. This way you can track everyone who file I-485 at same month and year as you (example find out people who filed I-485 in August 2013 in F2A category).
9. We have added two "dummy" records under username Admin and Amazon. You can view / sort / filter these two data anyway you want.
10. You can add and track your entire progress from start to finish in EB (PERM, I-140 and I-485) and FB (I-130 and I-485) category for  Permanent Resident and US Citizen.
11. Few more stuff that we will let you discover :)

Update (September 2013):

We have added more new features:

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.

2. Floating Header: When you scroll down to bottom of the page, the header will now stick to the top of the page. This will help you to see the header as well as tracker data.

3. Follow Case: Now you can follow any case (which may be similar to your case). Anytime a case is updated by owner, you will get a notification email.

4. Comments: You can directly comment below each case. Just scroll to bottom of page and post your question/comment about that case. All people who are are following that case will get a notification email.

Here is the direct link:  http://www.mygcvisa.com/tracker/

PERM Processing Statistics As Of 06/30/13

USCIS recently updated PERM statistics as of 06/30/13. This statistics will also give you an idea of current level of demand in various EB categories. Demand is currently 4% higher than last year.

In the last nine months around 28,000 PERM applications (out of 54,000 received) have been approved. 83% of total approved applications are filed by H1B visa holders. 59% of approved PERM applications are filed by people from India.

The next highest is from China at only 7% and Canada at 5%. The gap between India and China VB date (in EB2 and EB3) will continue to increase. MS/PhD holders are at 53% compared to BS degree holders at 38%. Please see more details below: