ARTICLE · 26 AUGUST 2015

DOS Visa Guru Explains September Retrogression – Makes Predictions For Visa Availability In FY 2016

Smith Gambrell & Russell

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EB-2 China and India both retrogress significantly for September, 2015. Mr. Oppenheim attributes this to "skyrocketing" demand for EB-2 Worldwide visas.

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Melissa Dearing

Simone Von Werden Kraus

Kelli Liliana Loftman

Severine Luther

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In recent correspondence with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Mr. Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Department of State's Visa Control and Reporting Division provides some explanations for the visa retrogression seen in the September 2015 Visa Bulletin, as well as predictions for visa movement in Fiscal Year 2016 (October, 2015 through September, 2016).

EB-2 China and India both retrogress significantly for September, 2015. Mr. Oppenheim attributes this to "skyrocketing" demand for EB-2 Worldwide visas. This leaves fewer visas available to spill-over to EB-2 China/India. Additionally, the EB-1 visa demand is up, which means there are fewer visas to spill-down to EB-2 China/India.

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