No significant priority date changes occurred for February and no significant movement is expected for March.  All EB-1 categories remain current, and in the EB-2 category, all countries other than India and China remain current. Foreign nationals from China have a new priority date of January 15, 2008 reflecting forward progress. India's priority date remains September 1, 2004.  There is ongoing backlog throughout the EB-3 category, but cutoffs in all countries have made some forward progress. To read the entire bulletin, click here

Each year approximately 25,000 families apply for the family unity waiver. Approximately, 70-80% of those waivers are granted.   Effective March 4, 2013, an updated process will minimize the amount of time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives (parents, spouses and children) who are undocumented and in the process of applying for permanent resident status.  The new provisions will allow undocumented individuals, who meet the specific criteria including; showing their immediate relative would suffer "extreme hardship" in their absence, to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver while in the U.S. and then depart the U.S. to attend the immigrant visa interview in their native country. Under current law, many immediate relatives must leave the country to apply for the waiver and then are barred from re-entering the U.S. The current  process can amount to months or years of separation.  Applications are expected to increase under the new process.    To read more, click here