The Department of State announced that cut-off dates for employment-based immigrant visa numbers will advance dramatically in February.

The February 2012 Visa Bulletin, which was released in January, noted that the cut-off dates for the EB-2 category for individuals born in India and China advanced to January 1, 2010. This represents a forward movement of an entire year for this category. The agency has announced that it will continue to aggressively advance the cut-off dates until demand for immigrant visa numbers in this category exceeds the statutory limits. At that point the dates will likely retrogress.

The EB-2 category encompasses foreign workers who are beneficiaries of labor certification for a position requiring an advanced degree or the equivalent, as well as those with “exceptional ability” in the sciences, business or arts, and those with exceptional ability or an advanced degree who can show that their activities will substantially benefit the national interest.

This advancement in priority dates means that many more individuals can file an I-485 application or be approved for permanent resident status.

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