xavier2014

Well every category is moving so it's a good sign that F2B is moving as well(already 9 yrs backlog). F3 is moving more than 4 months hopefully, we'll see similar F2B progress in the coming months. With that more people are now eligible for interviews and can expedite their cases. Let's hope that no single country hampers the momentum, and each country gets 10-15 visas from now

@makers

If you become a naturalized citizen, applicants immigration category would change to F1. At that point, you would need to request to stay in the F2B category. If your children get married, the category would further change to F3. The wait time between F3 and F1 or F2B is almost 6 years.

Yes, we are all waiting, and the existence of the F2B/F1 category seems unjustified, especially when the wait time period stands at 9+ years now. Remaining unmarried is a significant factor that impacts applicants, especially if the applicant is female. I'm guessing that most female applicants from 2015-17 have already gotten married. 

Immigration is a crucial topic in this year's US election, but there is a noticeable lack of focus on the legal immigration system.

On 1/10/2024 at 5:39 PM, Newbuddy said:

I have question

what if some one age reaches to marriage ?? Like his age is 38

If he is in a relationship/ committed thn still he should wait for his interview date ??

It can ruined some ones life or career 

 

nope you can't get married while still waiting for F2B visas, long wait it really does impact many people. I am sure many visas would be invalid after the State Department starts moving visas. I think that's one of the reasons the State Department missed the 26k mark before COVID people get married, and visas get wasted.

As I am reading on Twitter/X, US politics are now discussing open border migration issues. Many people sarcastically suggesting they should try that instead waiting legally lol.

6 hours ago, GusHD said:

They might think that work visas are more beneficial for the country than family.

If that's the case it's really inhuman.

 

btw: I'm applying for both F2B (family) and EB2 (work). My F2B is Oct-13-2015.

Most F2B applicants are above 21, and they are typically at their peak in terms of workalike. The EB category is not solely about high skill, as there seems to be some abuse in this category.

It's frustrating that there has been no movement in the F2B category after three years. I can't see any valid reason from the State Department for keeping F2B on hold in this manner. Oh man you are too close, just wait for another movement

20 hours ago, RR159 said:

Listening to Charlie again in his video for February visa bulletin. He mentioned the loop hole, whereby unused family visas fall down to employment categories and he said that unused family visa for China will most likely go to employment visa for China so the priority date for China employment visa will move but family visa will not. 

Why can’t they move the priority date for family visa instead of quickly moving the unused visas into employment categories?

EB has the largest lobby with the most lawyers working alongside them. Congress has set a limit on the number of visas they can issue per year. The only way to generate additional visas is by blocking family visas, thus creating a spillover. Unfortunately, many applicants in family categories are not actively involved in lobbying or working with lawyers to file complaints. 

10 hours ago, RR159 said:

Thanks for the perfect link, it starts at the right point in time.
“…focus on EB visas because that's where the money is (nothing wrong).” Yeah, money talks!

 

55k family visas in 2020 were not issued, instead they were donated to employment category in 2021.

135k family visas in 2021 were not issued, instead they were donated to employment categories in 2022.

57k family visas in 2022 were not issued, instead they were donated to employment categories in 2023.

Finally, 21k family visas in 2023 were not issued, instead they were donated to employment categories in 2024.

 

No immigration lawyers made any serious noise about returning these visas back to family categories. 

These visas are lost forever, with no coming back(according to Charlie), leaving a huge backlog in the F category. There is a loophole or system called spillover (unused family visas, lol!) that can be used to supplement EB visas. Since EB has significant lobbying power, they usually get priorities instead of increased EB quotas.

@GusHD you are right 2024 very important, hopefully someone will ask Charlie a follow-up question regarding F2B visas in the coming months

3 hours ago, GusHD said:

"Charlie is saying we should see frequent movement in F2B now" - thats nice, where did you read that?
 

Check this out at 42 min. Most YouTube channels focus on EB visas because that's where the money is (nothing wrong). Charlie himself is now an adviser to this firm,I believe if he would still be there it should have moved more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPnv-YrEIF8&t=2550s

The DR issue would become clear after we see the 2023 reports, until then we can wonder what's going on there. Charlie Oppenheim used to handle the visa bulletin he retired at the end of 2021 I believe. After that, we never saw a big move in F2B. I don't know if there's any coincidence there, but according to him, the State Department, plus NVC, oversees the demand. If sufficient demand is not there, they would update the visa bulletin. So, there's a lot we do know. The problem is they might miscalculate demand otherwise they wouldn't miss 3-4k visas each year. Charlie is saying we should see frequent movement in F2B now. Let's see. They prioritize EB visas(they have big influence) over family-based visas. Last year it was 197k (they used it all) this year it would be 161k therefore more family-based visas should be processed

@RR159 @zaback21 Monthly visa issuances were overall above 45k+ in October and November. It seems they issued more visas to F2A and F4.

The good news is that they probably covered most of the current Priority Dates.

The bad news is that both F1 and F2B are not moving, most countries did not receive any F1 visas this month. This category needs to move drastically, and I don't know what NVC or the State Department are doing in this regard. Otherwise, visas would be wasted this year as well in these two categories

19 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

There were lots of unused visas in the EB categories in that period. Nearly 67,000 went unused in 2021 alone.

 

Consulates don't set the Priority Dates, it's managed by the DoS. And the DR hasn't gone over the legal quota at any point, it would create a huge furore if they did and open up all sorts of legal challenges. The monthly reports aren't helpful or relevant really. Here is last year's annual report on the visas issued subject to the country cap for info - https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2022AnnualReport/FY22_TableV.pdf

In 2018, the Dominican Republic received almost 11k F2B visas, contributing to a total of 26k visas issued worldwide. However, this didn't hinder movement. I believe the issue lies in the inability to fulfill the annual 26k quota. Hopefully, we'll witness a significant movement soon.

wow 67k unused EB visas in 2021, I heard 20k family visas spilling over into the EB category last year. Regardless, as long as it's not wasted, there doesn't seem to be an issue

15 hours ago, RR159 said:

Agreed that it will create more backlog than solving the problem. When the per country limit is 7%, Dominican Republic already received more than 12% (in 2023). Now they are proposing a limit of 15% for family categories, MAYBE DR will now receive 25%+. 
 

Meanwhile rest of the world will continue to suffer.

 

Instead why can’t they enforce the existing rules? Since DR is grossly oversubscribed, they should set up a new PD cutoff date for DR, just like Mexico, India, China or Philippines. 

I dont know how NVC or USCIS overlooks the cap set by Congress. While I don't see an issue with the DR receiving extra visas, given the unused visas(2-5k each) in F1 and F2B, but obtaining half of the allocated visas seems significant. It appears as if there might be lobbying involved, similar to the EB categories

By the way, embassy also set PD date, thats why you would see DR usually used to get 200-300 visas before pandemic somehow it has changed.

5 hours ago, RR159 said:

Immigration visa efficiency and security act 2023: is this new bill going to help, or hurt, current applicants?

I guess it will create a backlog in the family category. Just look at F1 and F2B in the last 10 years, they consistently fell short of fulfilling the allocated quota(except for a few occasions). meanwhile, you never see any unused visas in the EB categories during this period.

25 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

You're comparing a family based route with a skills/education based route though, so not really a fair comparison. Those that qualify for PR via the EE points based system in Canada would often qualify for a work based visa for the US as well, which can be even quicker.

 

If you compare like for like, then sponsoring an adult child isn't an option for Canadian citizens, unless that child is disabled and financially dependent on them, or that child is their only living relative. So it may take a long time in the US, but at least it's possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my post where I compared the systems, I am aware of the Canadian immigration process, many of us are qualified enough to migrate there. I am suggesting that the U.S. should have a similar kind of system(work experience, ielts/toefl, degree etc). The majority of my family lives in the U.S so why would I want to immigrate to Canada?

I agree that being optimistic is better than being pessimistic, but I am presenting facts based on data. If we look back to 2010-11, it typically takes 8-9 years, I dont know how they waited that long(somehow it came back around 6.5 years before pandemic) and now we find ourselves in that phase again. look at the historical issuance of preference visas each fiscal Year over a 10-year average, they usually issue around 20k in F1 and F2B categories annually. However the current focus is more on employment-based visas, which may result in spill overs plus there seems to be a growing number of applicants in F1 and F2B with minimal movement. anyway let's hope for the best.

My friend recently immigrated to Canada through a point-based migration system. He suggested that I apply as well. It took him 6 months for the entire process after selection. USA should follow that system instead this brutal process.

I don't know how we see that, positively or negatively, this 9-day movement after 2.5 years, F1 stuck, if that's the case, process of PD 2016 will start in 2025. I don't see any movement in cart B before 2025. good luck guys

2 hours ago, xavier2014 said:

DR+PH already got 1738 visas in first month of fiscal year 2024.

If this trend continues they will get 1738*12=20856 out 26266 visas.

RW have to fight for 5410 visas

DR pre-pandemic VISA history. First month of fiscal year 2019 and 20202020

52 minutes ago, Mundo254 said:

If this is the case, we are yet to see an astounding jump soon in waiting times we have never seen.

 

Just glad to be somewhere in the queue near the PD date. I can only Imagine those who are filing now.

Plus some of us when it all done and we have our Visas, we still have our fiances, girlfriends, kids to worry about who we will be leaving back in our home countries ... Sigh! US Immigration Journey esp for Family Sponsored Applicants and their Families is really draining!

lol! you sure, those who are applying now would be lucky someone would intervene to fix the problem and get back to the pre-pandemic level in the end. But you and I may be the unlucky ones caught in this Green Card backlog saga, delaying our process. I know many people got married and settled already in their respective countries. Most people are now in their 30s. Just imagine those whose DQ was completed in 2020 but are still waiting for IL four years just gone for that. They are even unluckier than us

DR+PH already got 1738 visas in first month of fiscal year 2024.

If this trend continues they will get 1738*12=20856 out 26266 visas.

RW have to fight for 5410 visas

19 minutes ago, RR159 said:

 

You are absolutely right, those are a lot of people being processed from Dominican Republic.

 

According to the link below, F2B has a limit of 1,838 for any specific foreign state. 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Immigrant-Statistics/Web_Annual_Numerical_Limits_FY2024.pdf

 

In October, they received 1286 F2B’s. So there are only 552 F2B’s available for them, for the remainder of the fiscal year 2024 (Nov ‘23 to Sep ‘24).

 

Let’s see how it goes for Dominican Republic in November.

 

lol it doesn't work that way, check last year Visa statistics, DR got 2k+ visas in a month.

Monthly visa issuance statistics just out (fiscal year 2024)

as usual xcept for the DR and philippines visa issues for F2B applicants are relatively low overall. I don't understand why they(NVC) aren't see 100k+ IV applicants waiting for the interview

On 10/14/2023 at 3:17 AM, GusHD said:

 

It was published today

Number of IV applicants whose cases are documentarily complete at NVC and ready for interview as of September 30	312,018
Number of documentarily complete IV applicants scheduled for October 2023 interview appointments	38,755
Number of eligible IV applicants still pending the scheduling of an interview after October 2023 appointment scheduling was completed	273,263

 

From these figures, it appears the processing speed has remained consistent, but there might have been more cases qualified.

Does anyone have insights on the current status of F2B visas?

There has been no improvement, instead new IV keep getting added. How can we expect VB movement then

@Mundo254 maybe DR deserves more visas than the rest of the world, is there anything wrong with that

The Dominican Republic has seemingly been a major factor in preventing the F2B visa category from progressing(not even a single day) over the last two years. Whoever is involved in handling the distribution of F2B visas does not seem to be favoring applicants from the rest of the world. Period. Lastly, someone posted a great comment on YouTube regarding the states of different administrations.

@GusHD Wow you are pretty close man. Just one VB movement away! If luck favors you, you could enjoy Christmas in the USA