May 2, 2024

What is the Difference Between a Visa Backlog and Retrogression?

Under U.S. immigration law there are several types of immigrant visas. We can generally break these into family based immigrant visas and employment and investment based immigrant visas.

Under the family based immigrant visas, there are two subcategories. Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, parents and unmarried children), and the Family-Based Preference categories (often abbreviated “FB”), which are generally other classes of relatives for U.S. citizen and lawful permanent resident sponsors. Immigrant visas for employment and investment are referred to as Employment-Based Preference categories (often abbreviated “EB”).

We have discussed the Department of State (“DOS”) Visa Bulletin in previous articles here.

When there is a higher demand for immigrant visas in a FB or EB category than the number of visas available for that category each year, the category is “oversubscribed”, leading to a backlog of that visa type. When the demand for visas in a category exceeds the supply of visas available, DOS will set a Final Action Date based on the visa applicant’s Priority Date. An applicant’s place in line for an oversubscribed visa is based on the date a petition for them is filed with the United States Immigrant and Citizenships Services (“USCIS”) and is called the Priority Date. The DOS updates the Priority Dates monthly and publishes them in the Visa Bulletin. The USCIS also uses the Visa Bulletin for applicants who are eligible to adjust their status in the United States. The applicant must wait for their Priority Date to reach the Final Action Date before a visa is available to them.

Retrogression occurs when DOS moves the Final Action Date backwards because its estimate of demand in previous months was incorrect. Those visa applications filed before the change in Final Action Date are “retrogressed” and DOS, and USCIS for adjustment of status applicants, will hold the visa application in abeyance and not adjudicate it until a visa becomes available in the future.

The Visa Bulletin can be confusing to understand and difficult to use to try to predict when a visa will become available in any visa category. If you have any questions about it and about retrogression, contact us at info@enterlinepartners.com and speak with a U.S. immigration attorney in Ho Chi Minh City, Manila and Taipei.

ENTERLINE & PARTNERS CONSULTING

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Office

146C7 Nguyen Van Huong St, Thao Dien Ward,
District 2, Thu Duc City
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Tel: +84 933 301 488
Email: info@enterlinepartners.com
Facebook: Enterline & Partners – Dịch vụ Thị thực và Định cư Hoa Kỳ
YouTube: @EnterlineAndPartnersConsulting
Website: http://enterlinepartners.com

Manila, Philippines Office

LKG Tower 37th Floor

6801 Ayala Avenue

Makati City, Philippines 1226

Tel: +63 917 543 7926
Email: info@enterlinepartners.com
Facebook: Enterline and Partners Philippines
Website: https://enterlinepartners.com/language/en/welcome/

Copyright 2024. This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This article may be changed with or without notice. The opinions expressed in this article are those of Enterline and Partners only.

Categories: Immigrant Visa, Non-immigrant Visa

Tags: backlog, retrogression, Visa Bulletin

USCIS Proposes to Collect Social Media Handles on Immigration Forms

What Is Adjustment Of Status For U.S. Immigration Purposes?

Delinquent U.S. Taxpayers in Southeast Asia

Federal Court of Appeals Rules Against Trump’s EO Ending Birthright Citizenship

our services

Over 18,000 successful customers with Enterline &
Partners, realizing the dream of immigration

Latest News

CDC Removes COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Immigrant Visa Applicants

Effective March 11, 2025, The United States Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) has removed from the technical instructions to panel physicians the requirement that immigrant visa applicants receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Panel physicians will no longer determine that an immigrant visa applicant is ineligible for travel based on their failure to receive, or otherwise document, their vaccination against COVID-19. Based on CDC’s updated guidance to panel physicians, which is inline with the recent United States Citizenship and Immigration Services policy, Embassies and Consulates will no longer refuse an immigrant visa application for failure to present documentation that they received the COVID-19 vaccination. Applicants whose medical exams are unexpired and otherwise still valid for travel to the United States, and whom a consular officer previously found ineligible based solely on the applicant’s failure to establish vaccination against COVID-19, may have a new medical exam issued by the panel physician without a

USCIS Proposes to Collect Social Media Handles on Immigration Forms

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued a 60-day notice and comment on a proposal to collect information pertaining to social-media handles and associated social media platform names from applicants in an effort to verify identification, streamline public safety screening and related inspections. The proposal, which was published in the Federal Register on March 5, 2025, is in line with President Donald Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threat” which directs the implementation of uniform vetting procedures. The USCIS will accept comments to the proposed rule until May 5, 2025. If the proposed rule officially becomes part of USCIS vetting standards, it will follow the U.S. Department of State 2019 rule which requires U.S. visa applicants to disclose their social media handles and other social media related information on their DS-160 Nonimmigrant Online Visa

What Is Adjustment Of Status For U.S. Immigration Purposes?

Under U.S. immigration law, Adjustment of Status (“AOS”) refers to the process through which an individual who is already in the United States applies to change their immigration status from that of a nonimmigrant visa status to that of an immigrant visa status, or “Lawful Permanent Residence”. This process is typically pursued by individuals who entered the U.S. legally on a temporary basis as a nonimmigrant and later decide to stay permanently. One of the best examples is when a student on F-1 status to attend a four year bachelor degree program is offered a job and qualifies at the end of their studies. They may then be eligible for Adjustment of Status. All AOS Applicants must fulfill certain qualifying requirements in order to apply for Adjustment of Status. They must have entered the U.S. lawfully, such as with a valid nonimmigrant visa and be physically present in the United

What is the Difference Between a Visa Backlog and Retrogression?

CATEGORY

Over 18,000 successful customers with Enterline &Partners, realizing the dream of immigration

Latest News

Over 18,000 successful customers with Enterline &
Partners, realizing the dream of immigration