June 2015 Visa Bulletin: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The June 2015 Visa Bulletin contains a bit of good news for persons in certain employment-based (EB) categories. However, for others, like Chinese investors, the news is mostly bad. For Filipino professionals and Mexicans and Filipinos in some of the family-based (FB) categories, the news is downright ugly.

The Good

The worldwide EB-3 category (professionals, skilled and unskilled workers) advances 6 weeks creating the shortest backlog in this category in several years.

For persons born in China, the EB-2 numbers (for advanced-degree professionals) jump ahead by an entire year! EB-3 China advances by 4 months.

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For persons born in India, the EB-2 category leaps ahead by 5 ½ months, while the EB-3 numbers inch forward by a single week.

The Bad

The worldwide family-based categories barely advance while the FB-2B (unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents) and FB-3 (married sons and daughters of US citizens) numbers remain frozen.

For persons born in Mexico, most of the family-based categories advance either 1 week or not at all.  In some of these categories, the waiting times exceed 20 years. The same is true for persons born in the Philippines.

The EB-5 investor category for persons born in China, which retrogressed 2 years in May, fails to move forward in June.

The Ugly

For persons born in Mexico who were sponsored by their US citizen brothers and sisters 18 years ago, the wait lengthens by 4 ½ months. This is a good example of how our legal immigration system is broken.

But what is much worse is the Philippines FB-1 category for unmarried adult sons and daughters of US citizens. In June, the present 10-year wait will lengthen to 15 years!

And finally, have pity for Filipinos in the EB-3 category (nurses, accountants, engineers, etc.).  In May, their waiting times increased from 7 months to 7 years. (No, this is not a typo!). And in June, their waiting times will increase again, this time to 10 years.

Coming Attractions

Remember that as the federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) approaches its end, waiting times have a tendency to increase. This year, there are increasing earlier than usual.

However, do not despair. When the October Visa Bulletin is released, the outlook is bound to improve, at least to an extent.

If only Congress would take action to fix our broken immigration system, but that would probably be asking too much…