Garry Davis' Blog

You’ve been watching the visa bulletin for your priority date to finally be reported as available and something horrible happens. For months, the report has been moving your category forward – some months by 1 week; others by 2 months. Then all of a sudden, the date GOES BACK or is reported with a big, fat “U” – unavailable. How does that happen? Let me explain.
 
The Visa Bulletin is a tool used by the US Department of State to regulate the flow of green cards out of the quotas. Picking the dates is an art rather than a science. Those responsible for setting the dates have to balance the mandate that they use all the available visas in a fiscal year and the need to keep their employees busy throughout the year.
 
The federal fiscal year goes from October 1 to September 30. So, federal fiscal year 2011 is from October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011. During that time frame, all allocated visas, read green cards, must be used up. Once they are gone for the year in a specific category, that category will be reported as a “U” on the bulletin. That simply means they are all gone for the year. The good news is a new crop of visas will be ripe and ready for picking again on October 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
 
Those who set the cut off dates have to consider many data inputs in reaching the report date for each category, including how many approved petitions are there with certain priority dates. That will give them some idea about how many applications they should expect to be filed based on those approved petitions. Also, they must consider how many applications are filed and ready for adjudication. The dates they set act as a regulator for the flow of visas out of the quotas. If they go too fast – i.e. too many applications are filed, more than there are available visas – then they must slow down that flow. When that happens, you will see the dates go backwards. The same is also true if there have not been enough applications processed – they will have to move the report date forward to make sure all available visas are used by the end of the year.
 
Because there can be wild swings, especially from July through September when the fiscal year is coming to a close, it is important to check the bulletin regularly if you are waiting for a visa to come available. When it does, you can know 10-15 days in advance of the report, and you should give us a call. We can advise you when to file, which procedure to follow, and how long it will likely take to process.

 
Sincerely,
 
Garry L. Davis