The U.S. Department of State ("DOS") recently issued its Visa Bulletin for September 2011. The Bulletin determines who can apply for U.S. permanent residence and when. The cutoff dates for family-based immigration continue to show backlogs and regressions due to the heavy demand for these visas. The cutoff dates for the Employment-Based Third Preference category are as follows: November 22, 2005, for all chargeability, including the Philippines and Mexico; April 22, 2003, for China; and July 8, 2002, for India. The cut-off dates for the Employment-Based Second Preference category are as follows: Current for all chargeability, including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and the Philippines; and April 15, 2007, for China and India. The DOS's monthly Visa Bulletin is available at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html.