The DOS recently released its February 2009 Visa Bulletin. Similar to the Bulletins for the previous three months, the February 2009 Visa Bulletin does not advance the employment-based third preference World category. However, it does advance the employment-based second preference category for Indian and Chinese nationals by approximately six months. Additionally, for the third month in a row, the DOS does not provide any guidance in the February 2009 Visa Bulletin about what it believes the future movement in the various categories will be. Because the DOS has not advanced the employment-based third preference World category in four months, it is assumed that the DOS will have to advance this category in the near future so that the DOS uses all of the immigrant visa numbers allocated to this category by the end of the current fiscal year on September 30, 2009.
The following is a comparison of the employment-based immigrant visa categories since the beginning of the current retrogression.
