Application Filing Dates Remain Stagnant in December 2015 Visa Bulletin

The State Department has released the December 2015 Visa Bulletin listing the priority dates eligible for “Application Final Action,” i.e. when an I-485 adjustment of status (AOS) application may be approved or an immigrant visa (IV) issued, and the priority dates eligible for “Filing Applications,” i.e. when an AOS or IV application may be filed.

There is continued good news with respect to the “Application Final Action Dates” in the EB2 and EB3 categories.  Although EB2 for nationals of China will not advance, EB2 for nationals of India will advance 10 months to June 1, 2007. The EB3 category will advance across the board from a few weeks to up to four months. Unfortunately, as has been the case under the revised Visa Bulletin, the “Dates for Filing” in the employment-based preference categories will again not advance at all in December.

In the family-based preference categories, the “Application Final Action Dates” will advance at least a few weeks in each category, with the greatest advancement being six months (June 1, 2002 to January 1, 2003) in the first preference (F1) for nationals of the Philippines. There will be no forward movement in the “Dates for Filing” in December.

As a reminder,  the “Dates for Filing Applications” are valid only for consular processing immigrant visa applications. USCIS will make a separate determination whether to allow the filing of AOS applications under the “Dates for Filing” chart in the visa bulletin. If so, USCIS will post the current “Dates for Filing Applications” charts on its website. At the time of this post, USCIS has not made any determination with regard to the December 2015 Visa Bulletin.

The December Visa Bulletin also contains an estimate of upcoming priority date movement.  DOS estimates that each of the family-based preference categories will advance several weeks each month. On the employment-based side, increased demand will likely result in little movement in EB2 for Chinese nationals, but DOS projects monthly advances of up to eight months in the EB2 category for Indian nationals. In the EB3 category, DOS estimates continued advancement of EB3 priority dates for all countries, including rapid movement for nationals of China and three to six weeks for nationals of India and the Philippines. 
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You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.