Relief For Indians! EB-1, EB-2 Dates Move Forward In Latest US Visa Bulletin

The US Department of State has released the December Visa Bulletin, bringing encouraging news for Indian applicants. Both the EB-2 and EB-3 categories have seen forward movement in their Final Action Dates. For Indian applicants in the EB-1 category, the Final Action Date has advanced by one month and is now set at March 15, 2022.Dates have also moved forward for Indians in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories. For Indian applicants in the EB-2 category, the Final Action Date has moved forward by 1 month and 14 days, with a cut-off date of May 15, 2013. For Indian applicants in the EB-3 category, the Final Action Date has advanced by 1 month, with a cut-off date of September 22, 2013.The Dates for Filing Applications remain the same for the EB-1 category, with a cut-off date of April

15, 2023. The Filing Dates for the EB-2 category are also unchanged with a cut-off date of December 1, 2013. For the EB-3 category, the cut-off date remains August 15, 2014. "A visa must be available before you can take one of the final steps in the process of becoming a lawful permanent resident. Because more prospective immigrants want lawful permanent residency than the limited numbers of immigrant visas allow, not everyone can immediately get an immigrant visa. How long you must wait depends on your priority date, preference category, and the country to which the visa will be charged," the USCIS says on its website. "If the demand for immigrant visas is more than the supply for a particular category and country of chargeability, DOS considers the category and country 'oversubscribed' and must impose a cut-off date to keep the allocation of visas within the statutory limits."

EB-5 category also sees advancement

Last month, the United States advanced visa processing timelines across several employment-based green card categories, with India seeing a particularly significant jump under the EB-5 investor program. In October, the Final Action Date for EB-5 India moved forward by almost 15 months, giving a major boost to Indian applicants waiting in line.This EB-5 route offers a Green Card or permanent residency to foreign investors putting in $800,000 (about Rs 7 crore).