9. State Dept. Reports on Visa Number Usage, Availability
A Department of State representative has reported that China's EB-1 category became current in July because demand was less than projected. 1,700 Chinese EB-1 numbers have been used; 2,800 are available for the fiscal year. Overall, China has used 5,600 employment-based numbers with 9,800 available for the year. It is likely that China will not hit the overall limit. Previously U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was clearing out its backlog of employment-based immigrant visa petitions, causing delays. Demand is now lower because approvals seem to have stabilized, the representative noted. EB-1 China numbers should continue to be available, although there is no guarantee, because the backlogs encountered recently resulted from an apparent surge in processing by USCIS.
Further, the representative noted, 37,000 of the 50,000 Schedule A numbers have been allocated. Current usage is 2,700 to 2,800 per month, so a supply should remain available through October or November. The Department will not allocate a case to Schedule A if an EB-2 or EB-3 number is available for the individual based on the petition.
Meanwhile, the representative noted, recent pessimistic comments about future availability of visa numbers were directed at family-based, not employment-based, numbers. Readers should not assume visa availability, however, until the cut-off dates are announced. Current visa number availability information is at http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2943.html(http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2943.html).