Musillo Unkenholthas received many emails and phone calls from people who have questions aboutthe August2016 Visa Bulletin.  We have puttogether this FAQ for all readers of the MU Law Blog.
Q. Why do the August and September Visa Bulletins always have unusualprogressions and retrogressions?
A. These two VisaBulletins are the final two Visa Bulletins of the US Fiscal Year, which runsfrom October 1 – September 30.  The USDOSmust make sure that it uses all 140,000 employment based immigrant visas.  If it does not use all 140,000 immigrantvisas, then the visas do not roll over into the next fiscal year.  On the other hand, the USDOS cannot use morethan 140,000 immigrant visas or else they violate federal law.  
Q. The Philippine and All Other EB2retrogressed for the first time in many years. Does this mean that the Philippine EB2 and All Other dates willpermanently be retrogressed?
A.  No. This is a temporary retrogression that will only last until October 1,2016.  The DOS expects that the OctoberVisa Bulletin will be Current for both Philippines and All Other EB-2.
Q.  The India EB-2 seems stuck in 2004.  For much of the year it was in 2008.  When will it return to 2008?
A.  Our sense is that October 2016 Visa Bulletinwill show a much more favorable Indian EB-2 date, probably back to 2008.
Q.  The Philippine EB-3 is unaffected by the Augustretrogression.  Where do you think thePhilippine EB-3 date is headed?
A.  Our read is that the September 2016 VisaBulletin may have an unusual date. Therefore you should not read anything into the September 2016 Visa Bulletin. 
However, FiscalYear 2017 looks very positive for Philippine EB-3.  Our educated guess is that the PhilippineEB-3 date will move at approximately a three-to-one ratio.  In other words, the EB-3 date should move, onaverage, three months each Visa Bulletin.
Q. At what rate will the All Other EB-3move in 2017?
A.  The All Other EB-3 should remain Current oralmost Current for the foreseeable future.