State Department’s November Visa Bulletin Summary
October 21, 2008
The Department of State issued its November visa bulletin, which shows some forward movement in the Employment-Based Second and Third preference categories.
All countries of chargeability, including China, India, Mexico and the Philippines, remain current in the Employment-Based First preference category.
In the Employment-Based Second preference category, priority dates for Chinese and Indian nationals have each advanced two months, to June 1, 2004 and June 1, 2003, respectively. Mexico, the Philippines and all other areas of chargeability remain current.
The Third preference category shows advancement across the board. The "all other areas of chargeability" category progressed four months to May 1, 2005; China advanced to February 1, 2002; and India moved forward by three months to October 1, 2001. Mexico and the Philippines advanced to September 1, 2002 and May 1, 2005, respectively.
The November bulletin also reports that the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services has a significant amount of cases with priority dates earlier than the established cut off dates. This backlog will likely result in slow forward movement of cut off dates during the next few months.
