On December 1, 2013 the priority dates for employment-based petitions filed in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories for Indian citizens will retrogress from 2008 to 2004. According to the Department of State, cut-off dates in these categories “were advanced very rapidly at the end of fiscal year 2013” but were “based strictly on the availability of thousands of ‘otherwise unused’ numbers which could be made available without regard to the preference per-country annual limits.”
On Wednesday, October 23, 2013, the Washington D.C. Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (“AILA”) invited Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the Department of State’s Visa Office, to speak at a dinner. Mr. Oppenheim projected that on December 1, 2013 the India EB-2 cutoff date would retrogress due largely to Indian nationals “upgrading” from EB-3 to EB-2.
Mr. Oppenheim also expected the India EB-3 category to continue moving very slowly. Worldwide, however, he expected EB-1 and EB-2 categories to remain current.