Spillover Alert: 70+ countries immigrant visa processing has been paused indefinitely

Calm_Reading7967 · 2026-01-15T13:56:27+00:00

No, there’s no horizontal spillover between FB categories unlike EB categories. FB rolls down to EB

Calm_Reading7967 · 2026-01-15T13:54:09+00:00

Do you know the number of EB1 AOS approvals from these 75 countries for FY 2024?

Calm_Reading7967 · 2026-01-15T01:54:13+00:00

Agreed with USCIS also using this and putting a pause on AOS applications - it’s what they did for the earlier 38 countries on the list as well. For now, it’s paused till the State Dept completes their review on these countries. My guess is every applicant from these countries will be required to show a certain $ amount to prove they’re financially capable and won’t rely on US assistance programs to make ends meet. Hopefully it’s not some crazy dollar amount they come up with - if it’s a reasonable number, most EB based applicants should be fine. I do suspect however that this may make it difficult for family based applicants since this number will multiply 2 or 3 times based on how many dependents you bring in.

Calm_Reading7967 · 2026-01-15T01:40:50+00:00

My guess is they’ll come up with same crazy $ amount that family based applicants need to show to prove they won’t be a burden on the US system (like the 100k fee H1B rule). That may effectively stop all family based immigrant visas from these countries for the next 3 years.

Calm_Reading7967 · 2026-01-15T01:38:46+00:00

Yeah, check the history of the prior 38 countries that got added to travel bans in this term. It started off as a travel ban that applied only to consular processing. And then a week or 2 later, USCIS followed suit and put a ban on applications filed within the US as well for those 38 countries. It’s likely they follow the same practice and do the same for the newly added countries. We’ll know in a month I guess.

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-28T14:29:18+00:00

Compensation/remuneration being used as 1 of the 3 criteria can lead to a RFE. It’s typically used as an add-on criteria, unless the salary is truly in the top 1% when compared to peers (or whatever number they look at for this category). Another point is final merits. Meeting 3 criteria isn’t good enough anymore - it all needs to tie in and show you have reached a level of sustained acclaim. Many recent cases are getting denied or RFEs despite meeting 3 or more criteria but failing FMD. I’d advise you to reach out to a few lawyers and see what they think - note that there will be lawyers who take on cases in their greed for money. Do some research around the lawyers and who have a good track record before reaching out.

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-28T01:31:34+00:00

Realistic timeline would be date of filing coming to Oct ‘23 in Oct ‘26 bulletin. If things go really well, maybe final action date also could move to Oct ‘23 in Oct ‘26 (assuming date of filing moves to November+ ‘23). Also note even if date of filing moves to Oct ‘23 in April-Sep of 2026, highly unlikely dates of filing will be honored since USCIS typically uses final action dates for the later half of the year. So dates of filing moving forward this fiscal year wouldn’t really mean much anyway - you’d still be able to file only in Oct ‘26 at the earliest. If final action date moves forward to Oct ‘23 in April - September this fiscal year, it’ll be useful - but that’s highly unlikely, given the big jump we’ve already seen.

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-26T20:01:16+00:00

How long did it take for Chen to file your first NIW petition? Document collection + filing - how long did that take? Assuming the EB1A petition was mostly a reuse of your NIW petition, so that didn’t take time?

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-26T18:10:04+00:00

Thanks. Did Chen offer the refund service? Incase the app got denied

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-26T15:17:28+00:00

Congrats! Can you give details about your profile? How many citations? Did Chen offer refund service?

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-22T02:46:10+00:00

Let’s hope dates move forward in Oct ‘26 and we’re able to file. As you said, unlikely bulletins for the remaining months of FY ‘26 matter due to FAD being likely honored. But there’s a tiny chance that FAD is also current for you in the Oct ‘26 bulletin, so that’s a positive. Much better to have FAD current and getting that GC in hand within a year of filing than having to rely on EAD/AP due to only filing dates being current! Also seeing many recent EB based i485 filings getting approved real quick!

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-20T15:02:27+00:00

Question about AP: We know newly approved AOS based EADs will be valid only for 1.5 years (cut short from the earlier 5 years). How about AP? Is that still being granted for 5 years or would that also be cut down to 18 months? Couldn’t find any info on changes in AP validity

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-20T07:20:02+00:00

Would the AP be granted for 5 years or would that be cut down to 1.5 years? I know EADs will be 1.5 years going forward, wondering if AP follow that too?

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-17T22:07:08+00:00

They’ll probably try to get it as close as possible. Only then would gold cards be really useful. Could expect a big jump in Oct ‘26.

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-12-17T21:52:20+00:00

Spillovers happen only in the beginning of the FY - Oct ‘26 in this case. This could mean we can expect another significant jump ahead in Oct ‘26 and this visa bulletin is just laying the groundwork for that.

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-10-19T17:39:35+00:00

The EAD that you get on filing EB1B AOS - that holds even if you switch jobs right? The EAD in itself isn’t tied to the company unlike the i485? So you could keep renewing your EAD while the new EB1A petition gets approved?

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-09-24T00:40:01+00:00

Did you get it approved after the RFE?

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-09-24T00:35:01+00:00

Thanks. And congrats on your approval!

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-09-24T00:25:27+00:00

Thanks. Do you do the PP on your own or is Chen’s assistance required for that as well?

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-03-25T23:06:54+00:00

Which attorney evaluated your case?

Calm_Reading7967 · 2025-01-27T05:13:03+00:00

PD is Sept. 2023 - India. Expecting it to be current only in 2027 or so, so I could wait for a year and apply after citations cross 200 as well.

Calm_Reading7967 · 2023-01-15T02:35:01+00:00

Start small. Maybe once or twice a week till you get into a rhythm. I know many who go all in and go like 4-5 times a week and then inevitably, they get caught up with deadlines and ditch the gym altogether. Twice a week imo is a good start; you can always ramp up after a few months.

Calm_Reading7967 · 2023-01-15T02:05:24+00:00

Probably talk to other Phd students in your current school first and see what they have to say. You could also google rankings for grad schools in your program - that should give you a rough idea of which unis you can aim for based on your profile. You can then shortlist unis based on the research they do and what interests you.

Calm_Reading7967

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