The February 2008 Visa Bulletin was just released and the annual limit for the India EB-2 preference category has become “unavailable”. From the notes of the bulletin,

Despite two retrogressions of the India Employment Second preference cut-off date, demand for numbers by CIS Offices for adjustment of status cases has remained extremely high in recent months. As a result the annual limit for the India Employment Second preference category has been reached, and the category has become “unavailable” effective immediately.

The cut-off date in EB-2 category for nationals of India had previously moved from “April 1, 2004″ in the November Bulletin to “January 1, 2002″ in the December Bulletin to “January 1, 2000″ in the January Bulletin. The retrogression continued in the February Bulletin and the category has become “unavailable”altogether.

[Update January 9th, 2008 ] The February 2008 Visa Bulletin was just released and retrogression continued in the EB-2 category for nationals of India. Read about the retrogression, by following this link.

We recently posted the January 2008 Visa Bulletin from the State Department. An important development was the continued retrogression of the cut-off date for Indian nationals in the Second Preference for employment visas. The cut-off date in this category has moved from “April 1, 2004″ in the November Bulletin to “January 1, 2002″ in the December Bulletin to “January 1, 2000″ in the January Bulletin.

The State Department commented in the notes of the most recent bulletin:

It has been necessary to once again retrogress the India Employment Second preference cut-off date. This is a direct result of continued heavy applicant demand for numbers by CIS for adjustment of status cases despite the retrogression which occurred for December. It is likely that the annual limit for this category will be reached within the next few months, at which time the category would become “unavailable” for the remainder of fiscal year 2008.

USCIS FAQ #3.

Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Filed by Aliens Whose Priority Dates are Current under Department of State July Visa Bulletin No. 107.

USCIS FAQ #2.
Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Filed by Aliens Whose Priority Dates are Current under Department of State July Visa Bulletin No. 107.

USCIS FAQ #1.
Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Filed by Aliens Whose Priority Dates are Current under Department of State July Visa Bulletin No. 107.

USCIS Update :: Revised Processing Procedures for I-485 Applications.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, beginning immediately, it will accept employment-based applications to adjust status (Form I-485) filed by aliens whose priority dates are current under the July Visa Bulletin, No. 107. USCIS will accept applications filed not later than August 17, 2007. [Read more →]

The sudden backlog reduction efforts by Citizenship and Immigration Services Offices during the past month have resulted in the use of almost 60,000 Employment numbers. As a result of this unexpected action it has been necessary to make immediate adjustments to several previously announced cut-off dates. All Citizenship and Immigration Services Offices have been notified of the following:

Effective Monday July 2, 2007 there will be no further authorizations in response to requests for Employment-based preference cases. All numbers available to these categories under the FY-2007 annual numerical limitation have been made available.

Employment preference numbers will once again be available to these chargeability areas beginning October 1, 2007, under the FY-2008 annual numerical limitation.

Department of State Publication 9514
CA/VO: July 2, 2007