The Department of State (DOS) recently announced that it reached the cap for green card filings in the EB-1 category, which affects all extraordinary ability workers, including managers, executives, athletes, and researchers.

This backlog for EB-1 visas is expected to continue beyond October 2018 (the beginning of the new fiscal year) and potentially into 2019. As a result, it is possible that new applications for permanent resident status will no longer be accepted for EB-1 visas until early 2019. This is an unprecedented situation.

Additionally, DOS has immediately imposed EB-2 and EB-3 Final Action Dates for September. This means that those waiting to receive their green cards in these categories will be affected by retrogressions, slow processing, inability to file, and inability to obtain a green card, even if the AOS has been filed.

The impact to the EB-2 and EB-3 categories is expected to ease after October 2018. You can read more about this in the September DOS Visa Bulletin.