November 2015 Visa Bulletin – Filing Cutoff Dates Remain Unchanged; Very Gradual Movement in the Approval Dates

The U.S. State Department has just released the November 2015 Visa Bulletin which is the second Visa Bulletin for the new FY2016 fiscal year.   The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the lack of any movement whatsoever in the Filing cutoff dates section of the Visa Bulletin, possibly caused by the October 2015 Visa Bulletin revisions and litigation.

October 2015 Visa Bulletin Revision and Lawsuit Update

As a number of our readers are already aware, the Department of State issues an initial version of the October 2015 Visa Bulletin which created a two-tier cutoff date system which was intended to allow earlier NVC/I-485 filings.   Unfortunately, a few days later, the Department of State revised the October 2015 Visa Bulletin in a way to prevent (at least temporary, we hope) the ability of many applicants to file their I-485 applications.   See our discussion and analysis.

As a result of this October 2015 Visa Bulletin amendment, a number of organizations and individuals pursued action against USCIS and DOS – some as advocacy and outreach, some as legal action.   A class action lawsuit was filed challenging the revision of the October 2015 Visa Bulletin and also seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) asking the Court to enforce the first October 2015 Visa Bulletin edition.    Unfortunately, the plaintiffs were unsuccessful in the TRO and the revision of the October 2015 Visa Bulletin went into and remains in effect for the month of October 2015.

Summary of the November 2015 Visa Bulletin – Employment-Based (EB)

Summary of the November 2015 Visa Bulletin – Family-Based (FB)

Second Visa Bulletin for the Fiscal Year Does Not Bring Much Good News: Litigation to Blame?

After the October 2015 Visa Bulletin revision and subsequent (ongoing) litigation, many in the immigrant community were expecting eagerly some development and news from the November 2015 Visa Bulletin.   Unfortunately, while we see some gradual forward movement in the “Final Action” dates, the “Filing Dates” categories remain virtually unchanged.

We believe that the ongoing litigation may be partially to blame on the lack of any change in the “Filing Dates”.    It is not inconceivable for USCIS/DOS to simply wait to see how the litigation would develop in order to be able to determine how the cutoff dates for Filings should be revised.

Current “Date for Filing Applications”?

Our office stands ready to assist in the applicable process to take advantage of the significant restructuring in the way the cutoff dates are determined and published.    Notwithstanding the lack of movement in the Filing cutoff dates, there are still many applicants across many of the employment and family categories who can now process their (and their family members’) I-485 Adjustment of Status applications from within the U.S. or process their immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if our office can help you take advantage of this (very time-sensitive for some) opportunity to file I-485 applications.    We are also happy to provide a free quote for preparing and filing your I-485 application.

Further Updates and News

We share the disappointment of many who were waiting for notable “improvement” of the revised October 2015 Visa Bulletin Filing cutoff dates.    We are hoping for more news, guidance and clarifications from USCIS/DOS on the expected movement in these categories over the coming months.

We invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.  We also invite you to contact us if our office can be of any assistance in your immigration matters or you have any questions or comments about the November 2015 Visa Bulletin.  Finally, if you already haven’t, please consider our Visa Bulletin Predictions tool which provides personalized predictions and charts helping you understand when a particular priority date may become current and what are the movement patterns.