DOS Predictions on Retrogression -

April 2006 Update



The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently provided some updated predictions regarding retrogression and visa number availability. These predictions, issued at the end of March 2006 and confirmed in the latest Visa Bulletin, published April 11, 2006, essentially recognize that the recent occurrence of forward movement for the Visa Bulletin cutoff dates cannot continue over the long term. The rapid forward movement of employment-based (EB) immigrant visa numbers was possible because the demand for visa numbers was less than had been originally predicted by the DOS. The immigrant visa numbers have moved forward sufficiently, however, to a point where there are many eligible cases. So this could result in some slowing of the priority dates in the near future.