The serious immigrant visa retrogression we notified you about recently has worsened for Indian and Chinese nationals, and is now affecting previously unaffected visa categories, including EB-1 and EB-2 “Worldwide”.

The State Department’s Visa Control and Reporting Division (“Visa Control”) has just announced that EB-2 immigrant visa numbers for China and India have now been exhausted for Fiscal Year 2012.  Beginning with the June Visa Bulletin and continuing through the September Visa Bulletin, these categories will be shown as “Unavailable.”  EB-2 numbers are for individuals who are being sponsored by US employers for positions that require an advanced degree or the equivalent.  Visa Control projects that these numbers will be available again at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2013 (October 1, 2012), and says that “every effort will be made” to return the cut-off date to May 1, 2010, the date that had been reached as of April 2012.

Visa Control also announced that, due to unanticipated demand, cut-off dates may soon be established in both the EB-1 category and the EB-2 non-China/India categories.  This is an unusual step, as numbers are generally available in these categories year-round.  EB-1 numbers are for “Aliens of Extraordinary Ability,” “Outstanding Professors and Researchers,” and “Multinational Managers and Executives.”