The immigration visa backlog is primarily caused by the insufficient supply of immigration quotas. The U.S. Congress has set an annual cap for each immigration category. Due to the high number of Chinese applicants for U.S. immigration and the limited quotas, backlogs naturally occur.
1. There are two backlogs listed in the U.S. Department of State's visa bulletin; which one should be followed?
The U.S. Department of State publishes two backlogs: Backlog A is the date for final action, and Backlog B is the date for filing. For those applying for U.S. immigration visas through consular processing, the National Visa Center will notify applicants to pay the application fee and prepare materials for the immigration visa interview based on the date in Backlog B. However, the final visa interview and issuance of the immigration visa will only be scheduled when the date in Backlog A is reached. For those wishing to submit an I-485 adjustment of status in the U.S., they must follow the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) choice. USCIS announces each month on its official website whether it will use the Backlog B chart. If USCIS does not use the Backlog B chart, submissions of I-485 can only be made according to the date in Backlog A.
2. Currently, the progress of U.S. immigration backlogs is very slow; when will the backlog chart return to normal?
The U.S. Department of State indicated in mid-July that due to the opening of fiscal year 2017 quotas starting in October, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the progress of the U.S. immigration backlog chart is expected to return to the status of October 2016. To avoid wasting immigration quotas, the U.S. Department of State typically advances the backlog significantly or restores the availability of quotas in October. As the end of the fiscal year approaches (September), backlogs may regress, and new cases may be halted to prevent the over-issuance of U.S. immigration visas.
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