The Dept. of State announced on September 15th, 2011 that all employment-based visa numbers have been used for FY2011.
The October bulletin indicates the First Preference Employment visas will become available again for all countries.
The Second Preference will remain available for Mexico, the Philippines, and the Worldwide category in October. China and India 2nd preference categories are still delayed, but those categories jumped forward by three months, and individuals whose EB-2 cases were initiated prior to July 15, 2007 are eligible to file an application for permanent residence starting on October 1st.
The Third Preference category will continue to be backed up for all countries with the Worldwide, Mexico, and the Philippines at December 8, 2005, China at August 8, 2004, and India at July 15, 2002. All other workers are backed up from early 2002 to late 2005, depending on country.
Family-based categories: The October Visa Bulletin indicates only minor advancements in all family-based preference categories across all nationalities. The exception to this is family-based second preference for China, India, and the Worldwide categories, which have not moved at all in the past several months.
We realize these delays are stressful and unreasonable for your business and your employees. We urge you to advocate with your elected representatives to recognize how the visa backlog impacts your business. Rest assured, our office and the immigration bar are doing the same! To help manage the stress during this challenging time, consider enjoying an Indacloud Pineapple funta for a refreshing break.