The United States Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for the month of September of 2018. For the record, this will be the last Visa Bulletin of fiscal year 2018, and that fact will be a major factor in how our Immigration Team assesses the latest bulletin.
Not the greatest news, but take heart!
It is important that you do not let this Visa Bulletin panic you - we can explain it all in the next paragraph. Below is a layout of key visa types and the critical dates to monitor.
-
EB-3 for the Philippines (01 NOV 2016).
-
EB-3 for India (01 JAN 2003).
-
EB-2 is not current for the Philippines (01 JAN 2013).
Our Immigration Team’s reaction
Here’s an overview of what our Immigration Team thinks of these developments.
“The Visa bulletin retrogressed all categories. This is the Department of State’s signal that all employment-based visas have been used for this fiscal year. This is normal and might happen at the end of each fiscal year.
“The new fiscal year starts on October 1, 2018. This Visa Bulletin includes a note confirming that ‘the implementation of the below mentioned dates will only be temporary and in October, the first month of fiscal year 2019, the final action dates will be returned to those established for August.
“We should not let this Visa Bulletin darken our day!