EB2 China and India priority dates move forward significantly from January 1, 2000 to October 1, 2003.  All other priority dates remain the same.

 

Employment Based Visa Bulletin

Categories	Worldwide	China (mainland)	India	Mexico	Philippines
EB-1: Priority Workers	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current
EB-2: Advanced Degree or Exceptional Ability	Current	01OCT03	01OCT03	Current	Current
EB-3: Skilled Workers	U	U	U	U	U
Unskilled	U	U	U	U	U
EB-4: Special Immigrants	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current
Religious Workers	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current
EB-5: Target Area Investment	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current

 

Family Based Visa Bulletin

Categories	Worldwide	China (mainland)	India	Mexico	Philippines
1st: Unmarried sons and daughters of US Citizens	08JAN03	08JAN03	08JAN03	01JAN91	15SEP93
2A: Spouses and Unmarried Children (under 21) of Permanent Resident	15JAN05	15JAN05	15JAN05	22SEP02	15JAN05
2B: Unmarried Children (over 21) of Permanent Resident	01MAY01	01MAY01	01MAY01	08MAY92	01MAY98
3rd: Married Children of US Citizen	01NOV00	01NOV00	01NOV00	01JUL91	08AUG91
4th: Brothers and Sisters of US Citizen	22DEC98	22DEC98	22DEC98	01AUG95	08SEP86

 

Source: US Department of State, August 2009 Visa Bulletin

Beginning July 1, 2009, all employers and attorneys/agents must file all LCAs through an iCERT account. It is important to remember that under the iCert system, DOL may take up to the full 7 business days to process LCAs both for approvals and denials rather than the old “instant LCAs.”

As ofJune 26, 2009, approximately 44,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.  Source: USCIS - Cap Count

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that, in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it has met all milestones set forth in a joint business plan announced April 2, 2008, resulting in the elimination of the FBI National Name Check Program (NNCP) backlog. The majority of the completion of a backlogged FBI name check resulted in a “no record response.”  With these cases, USCIS will resume normal processing of most cases which most often ends in a final determination of eligibility. 

Source: USCIS Update

USCIS announced today that effective June 29, 2009, it will resume Premium Processing Service for Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, involving

• EB-1 Aliens with Extraordinary Ability,
• EB-1 Outstanding Professors and Researchers,
• EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability not seeking a National Interest Waiver,
• EB-3 Professionals,
• EB-3 Skilled Workers, and
• EB-3 Workers other than Skilled Workers and Professionals.
  

Premium Processing Service is still not available for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, involving

• EB-1 Multinational Executives and Managers and
• EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability seeking a National Interest Waiver.

Under the Premium Processing Service, USCIS guarantees petitioners that, for a $1,000 processing fee, it will issue either an approval notice, or where appropriate, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation, within 15 calendar days of receipt.  If the petition is not processed within 15 calendar days, USCIS will refund the $1,000 fee and continue to process the request as part of the Premium Processing Service.  In addition to faster processing, petitioners who participate in the program may use a dedicated phone number and e-mail address to check on the status of their petition or ask any other questions they may have concerning their petition. 

Source: USCIS Update