The State Department is approaching a time when they will have to determine the employment-based visa number allocation in anticipation of the rate of consumption of the employment-based immigrant visa numbers by the USCIS and visa posts overseas such that they assure that the employment-based immigrant visa numbers which are allocated for FY 2008 are not wasted. It will be interesting to learn the lessons from the FY 2007 management by the State Department during the last summer leading to the notorious July 2007 Visa Fiasco by making EB visa numbers current in all categories for July. It is true that the State Department may readjust quarterly allocation in the coming May Visa Bulletin to keep a proper balance in the inventory considering the rate of consumption by the USCIS and visa posts. We would like to repost our last June message to give a perspective for the likely visa allocation during the summer:
"06/17/2007: Background of EB-2 and EB-3 Numbers Current
Unconfirmed sources indicate that the State Department allocated the EB visa numbers for the FY 2007 "conservatively" with the expectation that the USCIS and USDOL would remove backlogs in a fairly rapid pace. Accordingly, at the end of May 2007, reportedly they allocated only 50% of the total annual quota for the EB numbers. Now, since it is not anticipated that the USCIS will produce enmasse I-485 approvals taking out a large number of the EB visa numbers, the State Department was afraid that unless the FY 2007 quota would be used before the end of September 2007, some of the visa numbers would be wasted. From such judgment, the State Department had to open the EB visa numbers current in July so that no EB visa numbers for the FY 2007 would be wasted. Anyway, it turned out to be a good gift for large number of EB immigrants. We thank the State Department for making a timely and right decision."
We will watch closely the Visa Bulletin movement during the next two months.