Monday, December 12, 2016

JANUARY 2017 VISA BULLETIN: NEWS AND ANALYSIS

The Department of State has just issued the January 2017 Visa Bulletin.  This is the fourth Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2017.  This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

January 2017 Visa Bulletin

Final Action Dates

Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card).

Employ-
ment
based
All Charge-
ability 
Areas Except
Those Listed
CHINA-
mainland 
born
INDIA
MEXICO  
PHILIPPINES  
1st
C
C
C
C
C
2nd
15OCT12
15APR08
C
C
3rd
01AUG16 
08SEP13
15MAR05 
01AUG16 
22JUL11


MU Law Analysis

All Other:  The EB-2 has been current for many years.  The EB-3 progression continues.  For Consular processing cases an August 2016 date is effectively Current.

China:   The China EB-2 date moved up about one month. The China EB-3 date progressed three months.  The China EB-3 continues to have a more favorable date than EB-2, as a result of many Chinese EB-3 workers "upgrading" their applications to EB-2.

India:  EB-2 India had another impressive progression from last month, moving forward two months.  EB-3 stayed the same unfortunately.  

Mexico: Mirrors All Other in all aspects.

Philippines: EB-3 moved ahead by another seven weeks.  The Philippine EB-3 number essentially cleaned out all 2010 EB-3 visas and half of the 2011 EB-2 visas in just four months.  This is what we have expected.  (Our note from September 2016: "This is consistent with internal MU Law analysis which sees this category progressing into 2013 by the Summer of 2017.").  

43 comments:

  1. I see that the filing dates for EB-2 India have remained in April 22, 2009 although the final action dates progressed by 2 months.
    Are the filing dates expected to progress in near future?
    How important are the initial filing dates in comparison with the final action dates?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The final action dates are more important. The filing dates are purely administrative; they signal to the NVC/USCIS which cases to work on. The final action dates are what can actually be approved.

      Delete
  2. Funny that you call 2 months progression as "impressive".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 2 months > 1 month. Anytime we move faster than in real time it is good.

      Delete
  3. Hi,

    I am from the Philippines and my PD is October 2012 under EB3, do you think my PD would be current this 2017? I am so running out of hope and would like to grab opportunities from other countries. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes - I do think that you will be current in 2017.

      Delete
  4. Hi, may I know if you mean that the EB3 - Phils PD 2013 will reach the summer of 2017. Would that be June or July of 2017?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately predicting the future does not allow for that degree of precision!

      Delete
  5. MU Law,

    Hi! Do you know the reason why EB-3 Philippines is not jumping several months forward? Is it due to the holiday season?

    Also, I'm in IT with October 2013 PD. From your estimate, will it be current by July-August 2017? I am thinking about applying for EB-2. But if my PD becomes current in less than a year, I don't think the EB-2 route is worth it. What is your suggestion?

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a close call. But if you are not Schedule A, then I would probably not bother with the EB-2. Phils EB-3 should reach 2013 by the summer. Oct 2013 is probably later: maybe one year or so from now.

      Delete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. hi, my agency requested for transfer of my case from abu dhabi to manila last dec 6. i do not have an interview date yet. nvc requested to submit my new police clearance last nov . is it possible to receice an interview date at the same time they will transfer my case to manila? thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No - if the interview location is changed, the interview will be delayed by a few weeks or even a few months.

      Delete
    2. so what month should i have my interview date? thanks.

      Delete
    3. It's impossible to say. Each Consulate has their own backlog.

      Delete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What is your estimate on EB2 India priority june 2009?anytime soon?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometime in mid/late 2017. I don't think that it will last longer than Jun 2018.

      Delete

  10. hi sir, my pd is Dec 2014 eb3 phils,when do you think it will be current? Do you still think that by the end of fiscal year it be Sept 2013? thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Victor,

      I do think that by the end of this fiscal year (which ends Sept 2017) that we will be in 2013 fro Phils EB3.
      My sense is that you will be current by Summer 2018, although the further away we get, the more variance that there is in any prediction.

      Delete
  11. Hi Sir EB3 India PD July 2007 when could be possible to current

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think that you are still about 2-2.5 years from being current, possibly longer.

    ReplyDelete
  13. How about pd april 2016 under eb3, wen do you possibly think it will get current?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pd april 2016 in the eb 3 visa category philippines, wen do u think it wil get current?

      Delete
    2. You are probably still approx. 4 years away

      Delete
  14. Hi there. My PD is july 2, 2015 for EB3 and am from Philippines.. what's the estimate on this? Thank you. I appreciate your reply

    ReplyDelete
  15. May I know if are there a lot of EB3 from Philippines filed from 2014 to 2015?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It depends on your definition of "a lot". There were certainly a lot more filed in 2014-2016 than in 2010-2013.

      Delete
  16. Hi,
    My PD is February 2017? When do you think it will be current? If it is 2018, what month could it be possible?
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your PD is Feb 2017? That's in the future.

      Delete
    2. It's a mistake. My PD is feb 2015.

      Delete
    3. My expectation is that you will not be current until sometime in late 2018 or early 2019.

      Delete
  17. merry christmas and happy new year MU law!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too!

      Delete
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  20. Hi sir! My PD is sept 2016 Eb3 phil, as u said maybe it will be current on year 2020, is there any possibility to retro again after the year 2013-2014? thank you very much sir.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Van, I'm not sure that I follow your question. EB3 Phils is already retrogressed.

    ReplyDelete
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  23. Greetings!
    At last I have found your website 'coz I was looking for this article you have previously posted. I can now share the links to my friends.
    Hi, Im from Philippines. Recently FEB. 2017 visa bulletin was released stating a 3 month leap from july to oct 2011 PD in EB3 (Phil.), I noticed a change in the trend and pattern of transition to current PD would there be also a change in your predictions? Im hoping for a faster run towards my PD, anyway may I ask for your kind wisdom regarding my PD which is Aug. 2014. If you said in summer it would reach up to 2013 would it be that 2014 PD can be reached before the end of fiscal yr? Thank you!
    Warm regards!

    ReplyDelete

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