DOS's Charlie Oppenheim Weighs in on July Visa Bulletin

Every month, the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the Department of State, Charlie Oppenheim, talks with the American Immigration Lawyer's Association about the visa bulletin. AILA publishes the interview monthly (AILA Doc. No. 14071401). This month's interview was conducted on June 13, 2017, after the release of the July 2017 Visa Bulletin. Oppenheim discusses the bulletin by category.

Oppenheim's Take on Employment-Based Categories

The final action date for EB-1 China and EB-1 India remains for July and is expected to hold through the end of the fiscal year. EB-1 China has used more than 6,300 numbers and EB-1 India has used more than 12,900 so far this fiscal year.

EB-2 Worldwide

Demand for this category declined toward the end of May, but demand during the beginning of June was steady. Oppenheim believes this category will stay current in July. The final action cut-off date will be imposed in August. The category will become current again in October.

EB-2 India

The final action date for this category will advance three weeks, but minimal advancement should be expected through the rest of the fiscal year. Approximately 40% of the available EB2 India numbers are being used by beneficiaries who have upgraded from EB-3 India.

EB-2 China and EB-3 China

The final action date for EB-2 China is, for once, later than the final action date for EB-3 China. Oppenheim expects slow progress for EB-2 China in the future. EB-3 will actually retrogress three years as a result of significant EB-3 downgrades.

EB-3 India

This category will advance five months and should continue to advance. The otherwise unused numbers for EB-3 Worldwide will be allocated in order of priority date. As a result, these will fall to EB-3 India.

FB-4

The final action date for this category will be May 8, 2004. The data here is too close to make a definitive prediction at this time.