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