Based on unofficial communications with the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Office, we are bringing you breaking news about the predicted priority date movements in the October 2012 Visa Bulletin.  Here are the most important forecasts that could have a profound impact on you.

·     India EB-2 priority dates will move from Unavailable to some date in 2006, as opposed to 2007 as previously predicted.  India is predicted to remain in 2006 for some time, and slow movement in this category is probable for the entire 2013 fiscal year.  China EB-2 will likely jump ahead of India, but the year is unknown at this time.

·     Worldwide EB-2 may become current in October, or may move to early 2012 and then become current in November.  The Visa Office would intentionally delay the return to “current” status to reduce the total usage in October and return to a steady flow of cases in the subsequent months.

·     August 2012 experienced record high usage of EB-1 extraordinary ability immigrant visa numbers!  If September usage remains this high, the EB-1 category could retrogress for one month and then become current again in October.

·     EB-3 worldwide should remain where it is, but steady progress is expected in the 2013 fiscal year.  Unless, of course, heavy usage in the EB-1 and EB-2 categories slows the speed of the EB-3 category worldwide.

Please keep in mind that these are just predictions, and we will be providing you with the accurate October 2012 visa bulletin statistics the minute they are released.  You heard it here first!