The State Department has released the December 2017 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 again will be small but consistent advances in the “Application Final Action Dates” in most of the family-based categories, but there are two major retrogressions. Each of the family-based categories will advance between one week and two months except for the first-preference (F1), third-preference (F3), and fourth preference (F4) for nationals of Mexico, which will not advance.  The retrogressions will hit the first-preference (F1) and third-preference (F3) for nationals of the Philippines: The F-1 category will retrogress two full years to January 1, 2005, while the F3 category will retrogress six months to July 1, 2006.

In the “Application Final Action Dates” for the employment-based categories, the EB-1 category remains current for all countries after becoming current across the board in October. There will be minor advancement in the other categories, although EB-3 India and Philippines will remain stagnant.

There will be no movement in the “Dates for Filing” in the either the family-based or employment-based categories.

Finally, the December Visa Bulletin also reminds that the non-minister special immigrant program and the Employment Fifth Preference Categories (I5 and R5) are set to expire on December 8, 2017, at which time visas in those categories will become unavailable unless Congress acts to extend them further.

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 or the “Application Final Action Dates” chart in the visa bulletin. USCIS has not yet determined which chart may be used for adjustment of status filings in December 2017. The agency will post that information on its website.

You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the August 2017 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.

As of August 1, 2017, most of the “Final Action Dates” in the family-based categories will remain stagnant, although the family-based second category for spouses and children of Lawful Permanent Residents (F2A) will advance from one to four weeks for all countries. In addition, for nationals of Mexico and the Philippines the “Final Action Dates” in each category will advance from two to six weeks.

As predicted last month, the EB-2 “Final Action Date” for all countries (except China and India) will retrogress significantly to April 1, 2015, and will remain backlogged for the rest of the fiscal year. The department expects this category to become current again when the new fiscal year begins in October 2017.

On the bright side, there will be continued forward movement in the employment-based “Final Action Dates” in the EB-3 category, highlighted by a one year advance for nationals of the Philippines. The EB-3 date for “worldwide” and Mexico will become “current” in August and EB-3 India will advance three months. However, the EB-3 date for Chinese nationals in the “other workers” sub-category (for positions requiring less than two years of experience) will retrogress to nearly three years to January 1, 2014.

With regard to the “Dates for Filing,” there will be no movement in the family-based categories. In the employment-based categories, EB-3 India will advance three months and EB-3 Philippines will advance seven months.

As a reminder, the “Dates for Filing Applications” are valid only for consular processing immigrant visa applications. USCIS  makes a separate determination whether to allow the filing of AOS applications under the “Dates for Filing” chart or the “Final Action Dates” chart in the visa bulletin. USCIS has determined that the “Final Action Dates” chart must be used for both family-based and employment-based adjustment of status filings in August 2017.
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You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the July 2017 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.

As predicted last month, continued heavy demand has caused the State Department to retrogress the EB-3 category for Chinese nationals. As of July 1, 2017, the “Final Action Dates” in the EB-3 category for nationals of China will retrogress to January 1, 2012. The State Department expects that the EB-3 China “Final Action Date” will return to October 1, 2014, in October when fiscal year 2018 visas may be issued.

On the bright side, there will be rather substantial forward movement in the employment-based “Final Action Dates” in the EB-3 category for nationals of all other countries, highlighted by a nine month advance to February 15, 2006, for nationals of India, and a one year advance to May 15, 2014, for nationals of the Philippines.

In addition, most of the “Final Action Dates” in the family-based categories will advance at least a few weeks.
 
There is also some advancement in the employment-based “Dates for Filing,” specifically, EB-3 India will advance six months to October 1, 2006, and EB-3 Philippines will advance one year to July 1, 2015. In the family-based categories, the “Dates for Filing” will not advance in June.

As a reminder, the “Dates for Filing Applications” are valid only for consular processing immigrant visa applications. USCIS  makes a separate determination whether to allow the filing of AOS applications under the “Dates for Filing” chart or the “Final Action Dates” chart in the visa bulletin. USCIS has determined that the “Final Action Dates” chart must be used for both family-based and employment-based adjustment of status filings in July 2017.

In his monthly “check in” with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the State Department’s Charles Oppenheim provided the following look at what is likely to happen over the next few months:

• The EB-1 retrogression for India and China will likely hold through September before becoming current again in October.
• Although EB-2 Worldwide remained current in July, a cut-off will be imposed in August, but the category will become current again in October.
• EB-2 India will continue to advance slowly through September.
• EB-3 India is expected to continue to advance.

You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the June 2017 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.

As predicted last month, continued heavy demand has caused the State Department to establish cutoff dates in the EB-1 category for nationals of India and China. A similar situation occurred last year, but not until August, indicating that overall demand is higher this year. As of June 1, 2017, the “Final Action Dates” in the EB-1 category for nationals of India and China will retrogress to January 1, 2012. There will be very slight forward movement in the employment-based “Final Action Dates” in the EB-3 category, except for nationals of China.

The State Department expects that the EB-1 India and China “Final Action Dates” will become current again in October when fiscal year 2018 visas may be issued. The Department expects continued heavy demand for EB-3 China due to applicants downgrading from EB-2. If this demand materializes, the Department will likely retrogress the EB-3 category for Chinese nationals.

The news is better for family-based applicants as most of the “Final Action Dates” in the family-based categories will advance at least a few weeks.

There is no change in the employment-based “Dates for Filing,” where the priority dates remain current for all countries EB-1 category and in all categories for those not from India, China, or the Philippines. In the family-based categories, the “Dates for Filing” will not advance in June.
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You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the May 2017 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 again will be small but consistent advances in the “Application Final Action Dates” as most of the family-based categories will advance between one week and two months. The State Department continues to expect higher demand in all of the family-based categories over the coming months, and this appears to be already affecting the fourth preference (F4) as the priority date will advance only for nationals of India, Mexico, and the Philippines.

In the “Application Final Action Dates” for the employment-based categories, the EB-1 category remains current for all countries, but the State Department expects to establish a cut-off date in the this category for nationals of India and China very soon, possibly in June.

There will be some advancement in the other categories of between one day (EB-3 India) and three months (EB-3 Philippines), although EB-2 India will remain at June 22, 2008. The priority date in EB-3 for China will advance to October 1, 2014, continuing the phenomenon of EB-3 being ahead of EB-2. The State Department still expects this to result in EB-2 to EB-3 downgrades by many Chinese nationals, which will eventually bring the priority dates in those categories into alignment.

The EB-3 “worldwide” priority date will advance to March 15, 2017, and the State Department expects this category to continue advancing about one month at a time.

On the bright side, the “Dates for Filing” for both family- and employment-based categories will advance several months, which is a welcome change. In the family-based categories, all dates will advance with the exception of F-1 worldwide and F3 Mexico, with F-1 Philippines seeing the largest jump at 16 months.

In the employment-based categories, the dates for filing remain current in the EB-1 category for all countries and in all categories except for nationals of China, India, and the Philippines. For nationals of those countries, there will be some significant advances highlighted by a 16 month jump in EB-3 China. However, EB-2 India will retrogress by 10 weeks to February 1, 2009.

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 or the “Application Final Action Dates” chart in the visa bulletin. USCIS has not yet determined which chart may be used for adjustment of status filings in May 2017. The agency will post that information on its website.
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Finally, the May visa bulletin implements the guidance provided in the April visa bulletin regarding the scheduled expiration of the non-minister special immigrant program, which is set to expire on April 27, 2017. Unless Congress acts to extend this category, it will become “unavailable” for final action as of that date and no visas may be issued and no adjustment of status applications may be approved after April 27. Visas issued before April 27 will be valid only until that date, and all individuals seeking admission into the United States with those visas must do so before midnight on April 27, 2017. The May 2017 visa bulletin accordingly lists this category as “unavailable.” If Congress acts to extend this program, the Final Action Date would immediately become “current” for all countries except El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, which would have a cutoff date of July 15, 2015.

In the past, we were reasonably confident that Congress would ultimately extend this program as part of larger budget legislation either before or shortly after the expiration, but considering the current administration’s desire to limit immigration (both legal and illegal), we are not as confident, especially if there is a protracted “budget fight” between the administration and Congress.  There is currently very little news concerning an extension.

​You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the April 2017 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 again will be small but consistent advances in the “Application Final Action Dates” in the family-based categories. Each of the family-based categories will advance between one week and four months. The State Department expects higher demand in all of the family-based categories over the coming months, which will likely result in a freeze of the priority date in one or more of these categories.

In the “Application Final Action Dates” for the employment-based categories, the EB-1 category remains current for all countries, but as was the case last year, the State Department expect to establish a cut-off dated in the EB-1 category for nationals of India and China due to higher demand and a lack of “otherwise unused” visas in the other categories. A cut-off date will likely be imposed for both countries during the summer.

There again will be some advancement in the other categories, highlighted by EB-3 for the Philippines, which will advance six months to September 15, 2012. The priority date in EB-3 for China will advance five months to August 15, 2014, continuing the phenomenon of the EB-3 being ahead of EB-2. The State Department expects this to result in EB-2 to EB-3 downgrades by many Chinese nationals, which will eventually bring the priority dates in those categories into alignment, perhaps as soon as May.

The EB-3 “worldwide” priority date will also advance two months to February 15, 2017, and the State Department expects this category to continue advancing about one month at a time.

The “Dates for Filing” for all family- and employment-based categories and all countries will not advance at all, as has been the case for the past several months.

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 or the “Application Final Action Dates” chart in the visa bulletin. The agency will post that information on its website.

Finally, the April visa provides guidance regarding the scheduled expiration of the non-minister special immigrant program, which is set to expire on April 27, 2017.  Unless Congress acts to extend this category, it will become “unavailable” for final action as of that date, and no visas may be issued and no adjustment of status applications may be approved after April 27. Visas issued before April 27 will be valid only until that date, and all individuals seeking admission into the United States with those visas must do so before midnight on April 27, 2017.

In the past, we were reasonably confident that Congress would ultimately extend this program as part of larger budget legislation either before or shortly after the expiration, but considering the current administration’s desire to limit immigration (both legal and illegal), we are not as confident, especially if there is a protracted “budget fight” between the administration and Congress.
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You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the December 2016 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.

As has been the case since the new fiscal year began in October, December 2016 will see across the board advances in the “Application Final Action Dates” in the family-based categories. Each of the family-based categories will advance at least a few weeks.

In the employment-based categories, there will be movement in the EB-2 category for nationals of China and India, which will advance two months and three months, respectively.  There also will be advancements of one week to nearly three months in the EB-3 category for nationals of China, India, and the Philippines. However, the EB-3 category for all other countries will remain static for December, as will the religious worker category and the EB-5 investor category for nationals of China.

The “Dates for Filing” for all family- and employment-based categories and all countries will remain the same as the November 2016 visa bulletin.

USCIS will make a separate determination whether to allow the filing of AOS applications under the “Dates for Filing” chart or the “Application Final Action Dates” chart in the visa bulletin and will post the applicable chart on its website. For November 2016, USCIS has determined that applicants must use the “Dates For Filing” charts for both family- and employment-based applications, but at the time of this post, no decision has been made for December.

The December Visa Bulletin also reminds that the non-minister special immigrant program and the Employment Fifth Preference Categories (I5 and R5) are set to expire on December 9, 2016, at which time visas in those categories will become unavailable unless Congress acts to extend them further.

Finally, the December visa bulletin includes some rough projections about future “Final Action Dates” given continuing high demand. Although expected to remain current in the coming months, the State Department expects the EB-1 category to retrogress for nationals of India and China at some point. Similarly, the department expects a retrogression of the EB-2 dates for all countries by July 2017. The EB-3 dates will be held in place for the foreseeable future, with the exception of EB-3 India, which the department expects to move one week, hold for several months, then move another week, then hold again.

You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the November 2016 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.

November 2016 will see across the board advances in the “Application Final Action Dates” in both the family-based categories and the employment-based categories. Each of the family-based categories will advance at least a few weeks. Likewise, each of the employment-based categories will advance, with the largest movement in the EB-2 categories for nationals of India, which will advance nearly 11 months to November 1, 2007.  

The “Dates for Filing” for all family- and employment-based categories and all countries will remain the same as the October 2016 visa bulletin. USCIS has not yet determined which chart may be used for adjustment of status filings in November 2016. The agency will post that information on its website.

The November Visa Bulletin also establishes cut-off dates for two categories that had expired on September 30, 2016: the non-minister special immigrant program and the Employment Fifth Preference Categories (I5 and R5). Congress passed and President Obama signed a continuing budget resolution that extends those categories through December 9, 2016, at which time visas in those categories will again become unavailable unless Congress acts to extend them further.

You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the September 2016 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.

As we enter the final month of the 2016 fiscal year, the State Department will advance the “final action dates” for certain categories to ensure that all immigrant visa numbers for the year are used. However, there will be no movement in the “dates for filing” as the department restricts the filing of new applications in an effort to avoid using more than the allotted number of visas.

As of September 1, 2016, the “Application Final Action Dates” in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories for nationals of India will advance approximately three months.  The “Application Final Action Dates” in the EB-3 category will advance approximately two months for all other countries except China, for which there is no movement in any employment-based category.  As expected the “Application Final Action Dates” in EB-1 for nationals of India and China and EB-2 worldwide remain retrogressed, although the department expects those dates to become current again in October when fiscal year 2017 visas may be issued.

The “Application Final Action Dates” in several of the family-based categories will advance at least a few weeks. In particular, the dates in the F-1 and F-2B categories will advance for all countries, as will the F-3 dates for nationals of Mexico and the Philippines and the F-4 dates for all countries except China and India. The expected temporary retrogression in the second preference for spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters of Permanent Residents (F2A) will not occur, but there will be no forward movement in that category.

There again is no change in the employment-based “Dates for Filing,” where the priority dates remain current for all countries in the EB-1 category and in all categories for those not from India, China, or the Philippines. The “Dates for Filing” in the family-based categories will not advance from the dates established in the August 2016 visa bulletin.

You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the August 2016 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.

As predicted last month, continued heavy demand has caused the State Department to establish cutoff dates in the EB-1 category and in the EB-2 worldwide category for the first time in many years. As of August 1, 2016, the “Application Final Action Dates” in the EB-1 category for nationals of India and China will retrogress to January 1, 2010, while the EB-2 final action date for all countries not listed separately will retrogress to February 1, 2014. There will be very slight forward movement in the employment-based “Application Final Action Dates” in the EB-3 category, except for nationals of China.  The State Department expects that the EB-1 India and China and EB-2 worldwide “Application Final Action Dates” will become current again in October when fiscal year 2017 visas may be issued.

The news is only slightly better for family-based applicants as some of the “Application Final Action Dates” in the family-based categories will advance at least a few weeks, although again there is no movement in the third preference (F3) for most countries and no movement in the fourth preference (F4) for China, India, or Mexico. In fact, there will be no movement in any of the family-based categories for Mexico.  In addition, the second preference for spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters of Permanent Residents (F2A) has stagnated and the State Department believes that the F2A and F3 categories will retrogress temporarily for the month of September.

There is no change in the employment-based “Dates for Filing,” where the priority dates remain current for all countries EB-1 category and in all categories for those not from India, China, or the Philippines. In the family-based categories, the “Dates for Filing” will advance at least a few weeks for most categories and countries.  However, this is of little comfort since USCIS has announced that, as usual, both employment-based and family-based adjustment of status applicants must use the “Application Final Action Dates.”
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You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.