The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State in collaboration with US Citizenship and Immigration Services.  The Bulletin is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated. True to the prediction of the April Visa Bulletin – that “very little to no forward movement is expected in the coming months” – virtually all categories remain stalled for June.  Below is a summary of the June Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and any changes from t ..read more

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated. Below is a summary of the May Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates. (Spoiler alert: there are no changes from April.) China:  EB-1 holds at September 1, 2022; EB-2 at February 1, 2020; EB-3 at September 1, 2020; and EB-3 Other Workers at January 1, 2017. India:  EB-1 stuck at March 1, 2021; EB-2 at April 15, 2012; EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers ..read more

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated. Below is a summary of the April Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month. India:  EB-1 advances 5 months, to March 1, 2021. Other categories progress 1.5 months: EB-2 to April 15, 2012; and EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers, to August 15, 2012. China:  EB-1 advances 1.5 months, to September 1, 2022. EB-2 progresses ..read more

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated. Below is a summary of the March Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month. India:  Only EB-1 progresses – 1 month, to October 1, 2020. EB-2 stalls at March 1, 2012; EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers, at July 1, 2012. China:  Only EB-1 advances – 2 weeks, to July 15, 2022. EB-2 freezes at January 1, 2020; EB-3 at Sept ..read more

On January 29, 2024, the Department of State’s stateside visa pilot renewal program began accepting DS-160s for qualifying individuals seeking to renew their existing H-1B visas while they are in the United States.  As discussed in our previous blog post about this new program, the program allows individuals in the United States who are renewing an H-1B visa issued by US consular sections in Canada between 1/1/2020 and 4/1/2023 or one issued by US consular sections in India from 2/1/2021 and 9/30/2021 to do so online through the Department’s CEAC website rather than having to travel outsi ..read more

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated. Below is a summary of the February Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month. China:  No movement in any category. EB-1 freezes at July 1, 2022; EB-2 at January 1, 2020; EB-3 at September 1, 2020, and EB-3 Other Workers at January 1, 2017. India:  EB-1 holds at September 1, 2020, and EB-2 at March 1, 2012. EB-3 ..read more

On December 21, the Department of State announced changes to the power consular officers have to waive personal visa interviews for nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applicants. Under the new guidelines, will remain in place indefinitely, consular officers are now authorized to waive personal visa interviews for First-time applications: H-2 temporary agricultural and non-agricultural workers; Other applications – applicants with a previously approved visa: NIV applicants applying in any other NIV category who were previously issued a nonimmigrant visa in any classification if the applicant is applying ..read more

This is a follow up to our prior post on Domestic Visa Processing. The Department of State has officially released the details of the long-anticipated domestic visa processing pilot program. The pilot program will be open starting on January 29, 2024, and will accept up to 20,000 applications, with applications accepted on a rolling basis. The system is set up to release approximately 4,000 application slots each week for the first 6 weeks of the program starting Monday, January 29, 2024. Once the weekly limit is reached, the system will be locked until the next set of slots are released follo ..read more

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated. Below is a summary of the January Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month. India: EB-1 surges 3 years, 8 months, to September 1, 2020. More modest gains in other categories: EB-2 progresses 2 months to March 1, 2012, while EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers inch forward 1 month to June 1, 2012. China:  EB-1 advances 4.5 ..read more

After a 20+ year hiatus in domestic visa processing, the Department of State is launching a pilot program to resume limited state-side processing of visa renewals in early 2024. According to a recent State Department announcement, the new pilot program will allow some individuals in the U.S. with visas to renew those visas without leaving the country or attending an interview at a U.S. Embassy or consulate outside the United States. Although the details of the new pilot program have not yet been released by the Department, the program is expected to be initially limited to only H-1B visa holde ..read more