Brian S. Weiss Immigration Law Blog on Lawyers.com

The Chief of the United States Department of State’s (DOS) Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division, Mr. Charlie Oppenheim, recently informed the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that the number of applicants filing for adjustment of status or immigrant visas under the employment-based first preference (EB-1) has dramatically declined since October, 2010. As background, the EB-1 category is reserved for foreign nationals who wish to acquire green card status as persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers; and for multinational executives and managers.

Based on this decline in demand, Mr. Oppenheim has stated that he will now be able to “transfer” these unused immigrant visa numbers for use within the employment-based second preference (EB-2) category, reserved for members of professions holding an advanced degree; aliens of exceptional ability in the arts, sciences, or business; or aliens who will substantially benefit the U.S. national interest. Mr. Oppenheim estimates that at least 12,000 additional visa numbers will become available for the EB-2 category.  He stated that “this [immigrant visa] situation will allow me to advance the India EB-2 cut-off date for May. The reason being that all ‘otherwise unused’ numbers are provided strictly in priority date order, and the India demand has the largest concentration of early dates.”

This news should come as welcome relief to Indian nationals who have applied for permanent resident status within the EB-2 category. Long delays in the quota have become the norm for these applicants, who have seen the quota creep slowly forward over the last several years, by and large remaining stagnant. If the immigrant visa numbers for the EB-2 India are indeed advanced in the May 2011 visa bulletin, this will allow the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the DOS to start approving more cases for Indian nationals who have current priority dates. A waiting game now begins.

For more than 30 years, the law firm of Garganigo, Goldsmith & Weiss has been assisting people with immigration, green card or visa issues. For more information on how our NY immigration attorneys can help, please call us at 212-643-6400, email us online, or visit our office at 14 Penn Plaza, Suite 1020, New York, NY 10122.