The U.S. Department of State has issued the Visa Bulletin for January 2010. Although there is very little movement forward this month, the Department of State has issued some projections for the future.

Not surprisingly, the Department of State said some it is unlikely there will be any cut-offs in the First Preference Categories. China and India in the second preference category have the potential to become unavailable due to heavy demand.

The Department of State issued the following projections for movement during Fiscal Year 2010 (which ends September 30, 2010):

Second Preference Category:
• China: should process through October 2005 cases
• India: should process early March 2005 cases

Third Preference Category:
• Worldwide category: should process through August 2005 cases
• China: should process through September 2003 cases
• India: should process through February 2002 cases
• Mexico: should process through June 2004 cases
• Philippines: should process through August 2005 cases

This does not take into account cases that may be withdrawn or denied, which would create further movement for cases that remain in the pipeline.

These projections from the Department of State are based upon a combination of statistics that have been made available in the last few months, such as cases pending at the Department of Labor, cases pending at USCIS with approved I-140's, and I-485 cases pending at USCIS.

These projections are very much consistent with what Hammond Law Group predicted at the Healthcare Symposium in early November. Hammond Law Group continues to believe the movement for third preference category from the Philippines will begin to see steady movement.

The visa dates for January 2010 are as follows: