U.S. immigration laws limit the number of green cards that are issued each fiscal year. The law further limits the percentage of green cards that can be issued to foreign nationals from certain countries. The per country limit for the employment-based second preference category ("EB-2") primarily affects Indian and Chinese citizens.

Over the past few months, there has been significant movement in the EB-2 category for Chinese and Indian citizens. According to the February 2012 Visa Bulletin, there are visas now available for Chinese and Indian nationals with priority dates on or before January 1, 2010.

The movement in priority dates has resulted in many inquiries from Indian and Chinese foreign nationals who are waiting for their priority dates to be current so that they may apply for green cards. Many of the individuals simply want to know if any documents can be prepared in advance so that when the priority dates are current, the green card applications can be filed as quickly as possible. Generally, the following are required documents for the green card application:

  • Copies of Birth Certificates for all applicants;
  • Copies of passports, visas and I-94 cards for all applicants;
  • Copy of Marriage License (and any divorce decrees);
  • Copy of most recent income tax return along with copies of all attachments;
  • Copies of recent paystubs;
  • Employment verification letter;
  • Passport-style photos (6 per applicant); and
  • Medical Examination completed by USCIS approved physician.

Most of the documents should be easily and readily available. We recommend that foreign nationals wait until their priority dates are current before obtaining the medical examinations. It is impossible to predict if the movement of visa numbers will continue at the current rate. It is quite possible that the movement halts all together or retrogresses. Medical exams are only valid for one year and thus can expire before the foreign national is eligible to apply for the green card.

In fact, the February 2012 Visa Bulletin states:

"Reports from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicate that the rate of new filings for adjustment of status in recent months has been extremely low. This fact has required the continued rapid forward movement of the cut-off date, in an attempt to generate demand and maximize number use under the annual limit. Once the level of new filings or USCIS processing increases significantly, it will be necessary to slow or stop the movement of the cut-off. Readers are once again advised that an eventual need to retrogress the cut-off date is also a distinct possibility".