News
Travel Ban
(February 12, 2017)
This evening, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision to temporarily prevent the government from enforcing a travel ban implemented via executive order on January 27, 2017. The travel ban has not been in effect since a federal district court granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) against it on February 3. The Trump administration now has the option of appealing this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. For the time being, however, the TRO remains in place, meaning that the travel ban still cannot be enforced.
March 2017 Visa Bulletin
(February 9, 2017)
The March 2017 Visa Bulletin was released this afternoon. As usual, there is no movement in the dates for filing (DF) chart. In the final action (FA) chart, the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India advances by six weeks, to June 1, 2008. EB2 China advances by one month, to December 15, 2012. For the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category, India sees no movement, remaining with a cutoff date of March 22, 2005. EB3 China moves ahead by more than five months, to March 15, 2014. EB3 Philippines also advances, to a new cutoff date of March 15, 2012.