US has a promising update for Indians awaiting Green Cards
What's the story
The United States Department of State (DoS) has advanced the final action dates for various family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in India. This decision, announced in the July Visa Bulletin, comes as a huge relief to thousands of applicants awaiting Green Cards, who have been waiting for months due to visa retrogression. The move particularly benefits five family-sponsored visa categories: F1, F2A, F2B, F3, and F4.
Updates
Significant advancements in family-sponsored visa categories
The F1 visa category, which is for unmarried sons and daughters (21 years or older) of US citizens, has been advanced by 37 days. The new date is July 15, 2016, from the previous June 8, 2016. The F2A category saw the largest jump with a forward movement of 243 days. It now stands at September 1, 2022.
Others
F2B and F3 categories see forward movement
The F2B category, which is for unmarried sons and daughters (21 years or older) of Green Card holders, has been advanced by 23 days to October 15, 2016, from September 22, 2016. For the F3 category (married sons and daughters of US citizens), the date moved forward by 40 days to August 1, 2011, from June 22, 2011.
Employment visa
What about EB-3 category?
The EB-3 visa category, which includes skilled workers with at least two years of experience and unskilled laborers under "other workers," has been advanced by seven days. The new date is April 22, 2023, from April 15, 2023. However, there were no changes announced for the EB-1, EB-2, EB-4, and EB-5 categories in this bulletin.