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Visa Retrogression – What is it?

The US government grants only a certain number of immigrant visas (green cards) each year and these are allocated among the various immigrant visa categories and countries from which applicants seek to immigrate. For the past several years, the number of immigrants approved for employment-based immigrant visas has been less than the number of visas available, resulting in no backlogs in the number of visas. Recently, DOS has seen many more immigrants approved for employment-based immigrant visas and has run out of visa numbers in certain categories, causing a temporary backlog or “backsliding” in visa numbers.

When global demand for employment-based visas outstrips global availability, immigrant visa numbers contribute even more among the various countries from which applicants seek to emigrate. Each country has a limit and each approved applicant is “loaded” against their country’s limit. Most countries have fewer applicants than available visa numbers. However, certain high immigration countries often meet or exceed their upload limit. These countries include China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines.

Please note that, for billing purposes, the country of a person’s birth control. A person cannot claim the country of citizenship for retrogression purposes. For example, if Applicant A was born in India, but holds Canadian citizenship, Applicant A will not be able to adjust status (based on EB1 or EB2) until the visa numbers for India are updated.

Also, note that a spouse can adopt their spouse’s country of birth for backtracking purposes. For example, Applicant A is a citizen of Bangladesh and the spouse of Applicant A is a citizen of India. Applicant A’s spouse MAY adjust status even though she was born in India because she can assume Applicant A’s country of birth for regression purposes.

Immigrant visa numbers are issued on a “first come, first served” basis. The date an applicant first begins the green card process (often a Labor Certification Application filed with the U.S. Department of Labor or an I-140 or I-130 Petition filed with Labor Services). of Citizenship and Immigration) becomes that person’s priority date, which will determine the order in which that person will receive a visa number and thus be processed for an immigrant visa or adjusted to immigrant status . When a backlog occurs, applicants will have to “wait in line” until their priority date is updated before they can adjust or receive an immigrant visa.

A visa number regression means that EB1, EB2 or EB3 applicants from certain high immigration countries will not be able to apply for an immigrant visa (by filing an I-485 form or through consular processing) until a visa number is available for them. your priority date.

Visa Supply and Demand

Visa number availability is determined using a simple supply and demand formula.
Each fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), DOS reviews the demand for the above classifications and limits by country. If DOS finds that the demand for any of the above classifications is too high and they don’t have enough supply, they withdraw visa “priority dates” to ride the wave of demand and ensure that supply is not exceeded. . By delaying priority dates, DOS can regulate the flow of these visas. If the demand for a certain preference classification is too high, the visa will fall back and will not be available until the priority date for that classification is reached.

For example, according to the immigrant visa bulletin that was just released in February 2008, visa numbers for Indian citizens in the EB2 category are no longer available. This means that a person who filed an I-140 immigrant visa petition in the EB2 category classification cannot later file for adjustment of status (or consular processing) until their priority date is updated.

However, it is important to note that these priority dates are subject to change during the fiscal year. It is quite possible that the visa numbers in the EB2 category for Indian citizens will be suddenly updated in a few months or the priority date will be reset. The reason for this is that DOS is making an assessment based on what they believe the demand for these types of visas will be. It is their way of ‘testing the waters’ of the lawsuit. If within a month, the DOS reviews the demand for these visas and finds that it is not what it thought it would be, it will establish a priority date.

Consequently, if the demand is as high as initially believed, they will maintain the ‘unavailable’ category. At this time, DOS is taking a very conservative approach to meeting its perception of demand and will reassess its position on a monthly basis as the year progresses. This is simply a regulatory mechanism where the DOS can control the number of visas issued in a given year to ensure that demand does not exceed supply.