Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State, held his monthly meeting with AILA to shed light on the data in the recently-released September Visa Bulletin.  Among the highlights of meeting are the following:

1. China/India EB-2 Retrogression.  As GT discussed previously here, EB-2 for India and China retrogressed significantly. According to Mr. Oppenheim, fewer EB-1 numbers and increasing worldwide demand required action to limit EB-2 for China and India. However, Mr. Oppenheim expects each country to advance in October when the U.S. government’s 2016 fiscal year begins.

2. Use of all Visa Numbers. Mr. Oppenheim stated he believed that all visa numbers in all categories will be exhausted by the end of the fiscal year, due to the large demand from Indian EB-3 applicants.

3. Visa Modernization. Mr. Oppenheim stated the trend towards aggressive cut-off date movements for certain categories earlier in the U.S. government’s fiscal year would continue. Mr. Oppenheim noted that advancement of a category earlier in the U.S. government’s fiscal year may cause “negative consequences” during the final quarter of the U.S. government’s fiscal year when fewer numbers are available. However, Mr. Oppenheim indicated that other options are being explored, and once those options are refined, the plans will be made public.