Effective October 1, 2016, green cards will become more readily
available for most people immigrating to the United States on
employment-based (EB) immigrant visa categories.
The US State Department announced in the October 2016 edition of
its Visa Bulletin that the agency is processing requests
under the EB1 category for all countries of birth, effective
October 1. This category includes aliens of extraordinary ability,
outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational managers
and executives, regardless of place of birth. During the summer,
the agency reported a lengthy backlog for EB1 immigrants born in
mainland China and India.
The EB2 category—for professionals with an advanced degree
and aliens of exceptional ability—is also immediately
available, except for individuals born in mainland China and India,
for whom the category is backlogged to February 15, 2012, and
January 15, 2007, respectively.
