The U.S. State Department has released its July 2009 Visa Bulletin.  The Bulletin is a forecast which predicts availability of green cards during the month of July.  The most significant change from last month is the retrogression of the EB-2 category (Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees & Persons of Exceptional Ability) for China, which changed from Feb. 15, 2005 to Jan. 1, 2000.

Here is the summary of the cut-off dates:

EB-1: Current for All Countries;

EB-2:  China & India Jan. 1, 2000; all other countries are current;

EB-3:  Unavailable across the board.

The significance of the cut-off dates published in the State Department Bulletin is in that a foreign national is eligible to apply for adjustment of status or immigrant visa (if processing overseas) if his or her priority date is earlier than the cut-off date in the category he or she is applying.  To view the July 2009 Bulletin, please click here.