The U.S. Department of State has issued the March 2014 Visa Bulletin. Of particular importance to family-based petitions, heavy demand in the Mexico F2A category (spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents) has resulted in a retrogression to April 15, 2012. The bulletin also suggested, but did not explicitly state, that the EB-3 category could see a significant impact and/or retrogression during the next few months due to heavily increased demand.
The Department of State also forecasted the potential monthly movement that each visa category is expected to see over the coming months. It is critical to remember that these are only projections and could change at any time:
Family-based preference system categories (per month):
- F1: 2-4 weeks
- F2A: No forward movement is expected
- F2B: 4-7 weeks
- F3: 4-6 weeks
- F4: 2-3 weeks.
Employment-based categories (per month):
- EB-1: Current for all areas
- EB-2: China: 3-5 weeks; India: no forward movement projected; current for all other areas.
- EB-3: Philippines: 3-6 weeks; All other areas (including India, China, and Mexico): little if any movement.
- EB-4: Current for all areas
- EB-5: Current for all areas
To view the March 2014 Visa Bulletin, visit: http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Bulletins/visabulletin_march2014.pdf
