Mid-Summer Updates

August Visa Bulletin Released July 8.   Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) remains unavailable.  The government expects no change in EB-3 availability until October 1, 2008, the start of the new fiscal year.  Employment-Based Second Preference is current except for India and China which both advanced to June 1, 2006. 

We have several updates from last week and this week as the warm weather sinks in.

• Fiscal Year 2009 H-1B Lottery.  We have unofficial word through our national attorney association that the lottery is over, and that all receipts have been mailed.  Contrary to earlier assertions, the USCIS has apparently determined that the number of petitions selected during the random selection process will be sufficient to meet the cap limit. Therefore, the use of the reserve/cushion will not be necessary this year.  In other words, there does not appear to be a “waiting list.”  We have been advised that USCIS has begun to mail out rejections this week.