So here are the numbers for May interviews. Pretty good progress for all regions. AF moved less than last month – but overall the position is good.


Region		All DV Chargeability Areas Except
Those Listed Separately		 
AFRICA45,175Except:  Egypt  39,000
ASIA18,450Except:  Iran      11,550
               Nepal  11,700
EUROPE30,000 
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) 17 
OCEANIA2,150 
SOUTH AMERICA,
and the CARIBBEAN		1,875 

However, those of you that have read the VB will notice the following text under the numbers.

The May rank cut-off movements for all DV regions continue to be greater than might ordinarily have been expected, in order to generate applicant demand under the respective annual limits.  This is because fewer DV applicants are actively pursuing  final action on their cases at consular posts abroad, and the volume of USCIS adjustment cases remains low. If large numbers of applicants eventually do begin to have their cases brought to final action, rank cut-off date movements will necessarily slow or stop, and retrogression would become a possibility.  At this time, it is not possible to say when such action might be required, but late summer would be the most likely time.

That is a pretty good explanation of what is happening (faster progression than would otherwise be possible) because many people have not sent in their documents in a satisfactory manner. The note warns than if people suddenly do that in large numbers the VB numbers will slow or could even “retrogress”, meaning go backwards. It is ESSENTIAL then to make certain that you have sent in your documents. And those cases that are now current can do that (since KCC have been saying they cannot check the document status until the case is current).

Those that are current, and have forms processed early enough, they can expect their 2NL in about 1 to 2  weeks from now. This is the same every month. VB from the 8th to the 15th of each month (although more recently it has been published a few days later – around the 17th/18th), and 2NLs in the second half of the month. For the last few months there have been 2NLs sent in two main batches, some early (around the 15th to 20th) and then some in the later part of the month. I would expect the 2NLs to have all been sent by the end of this month. The end of the month really means THE END OF THE MONTH. Please don’t waste my time later this month asking about 2NLs. Please. They can be sent right up until the last day of the month.

To those new to looking at VBs, let me explain what the “except” XXX country means – and you can also read this post on how to read the visa bulletin.

Processing is spread out over the full year. You can see the progress of the two previous years in this post about basic questions.  However, some countries have a high number of selectees and those selectees are concentrated in the lower case numbers. For various reasons, mainly to do with embassy capacity, KCC slow down certain countries as compared to the region. So – in Africa, any case with a case number shown as under the new number can be interviewed but for cases from Egypt, that number is lower. That isn’t a big problem, it just “slows down” those countries a little more than the rest of the region. Since selectees from those countries all have lower case numbers, this slowing down does not present any risk. It does not (at this point) mean they won’t allow all selectees an interview from those countries.

To understand why some countries get lower case numbers, read this article about the lottery draw process.