VISA2US Blog

H-1B visas are highly sought-after work documents that allow the holder to enter the United States legally, find housing, and gain employment temporarily. It’s a dual-intent document, so once the holder is in the US, they have permission to start the steps to obtain permanent resident status through a Green Card. Because they also allow the beneficiary’s immediate dependents to move with them, it’s easy to see why this visa category is exceedingly popular with foreign workers around the world. However, recent polls show that one of the countries dominating the H-1B requests is China, and they’re willing to get into the US legally or illegally.

Everyone has heard about the severe COVID restrictions China has had in place since the outbreak in 2020. These rules significantly impacted one’s ability to obtain and transfer their H-1B and other visas. With the recent relaxation of China’s COVID policies, travel to and from the country has become slightly easier. However, there are still restrictions you should know about before you attempt to obtain an H-1B visa.

The State Department has once again started processing investor visa applications, and changes have been marked on the May visa bulletin. In addition, cut-off dates for May and June of 2022 have been listed for DV (green card lottery) applicants.

The bulletin for April features slight advancements for EB2 applicants from India seeking a final action date, and a 1 year advancement for EB2 applicants from India looking to file their visa application.

This months visa bulletin features some small advances for employment-based visa applicants, as well as retrogression in some categories. In addition, two employment-based visas have become unavailable, signaling that some visas have already been used for FY 2022.

For February, there are some noticeable advancements in the EB2 category for Indian and Chinese immigrant visa applicants. The State Department also issued a notice about a final action date they might implement for EB4 applicants.

The December Visa Bulletin will feature advances for employment based applicants from India and China in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories.

The visa bulletin for October, 2021, reflects the start of a new fiscal year for U.S. immigration.

The upcoming month shows that Certain Special Immigrants from Latin America and religious workers have a backlog as we near the end of the fiscal year. In addition, SIVs have a current final action date for Afghan nationals, but the difficulty remains in actually filing these applications because of the extensive paperwork.

This months visa bulletin shows similar backlogs for employment based visa applicants for Chinese and Indian nationals. However several employment based categories remain Current for those interested in filing.