On September 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of States (DOS) announced the Visa Bulletin for October with an inspiring news which turned out to be an illusion when DOS unexpectedly updated the Visa Bulletin on September 25 2015. Specifically, on Sep. 9 2015, the dates for filing applications of Employment-based (EB) second preference visas was scheduled as early as May 1 2014 for EB-2 China and July 1 2011 for EB-2 India. On Sep. 25 2015, however, the filling date was suddenly rolled back to Jan.1 2013 for EB-2 China and July 1 2009 for EB-2 India. In other words, due to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)’s concern about its ability to process the volume of filings, the wait time for the eligible individuals to file their applications for permanent residence were postponed for around 2 years. On Nov 20 2014, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum on “Modernizing and Streamlining the U.S. Immigrant Visa System for the 21st Century,” urging the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to “modernize the information technology infrastructure underlying the visa processing system with the goal to reduce redundant systems, improve the experience of applications, and enable better oversights.” On the contrary, the swift and sharp transition confused and upset the applicants who have waited patiently, and broke the DOS’ and DHS’ commitment of improving the U.S. legal immigration system. Sep.28 2015, The American Immigration Lawyers Association wrote to Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Director of the Domestic policy Council, asking the dates published in the 9/9/15 Visa Bulletin be restored. Currently, none official explanations have been given concerning the occurrence. Despite the fact, it is still recommended that the applicants shall prepare themselves for filling the I-485 application.
Resources:
American Immigration Lawyers Association Doc No. 15092531
American Immigration Lawyers Association Doc No. 15092809
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Official Website