November 2015 Visa Bulletin Dashes Hopes of Foreign Workers

The State Department has released the November 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.

Despite the initial hope that the revisions effective with the October 2015 Visa Bulletin would allow individuals in the most severely oversubscribed preference categories to file their AOS applications sooner than under the previous procedures, the November bulletin shows little to no forward movement in the filing eligibility dates.

The biggest disappointment is in the employment-based preference categories, where the “Dates for Filing” will not advance at all in any category for any country in November.  There is some good news with respect to the “Application Final Action Dates” in the EB2 and EB3 categories, each of which will advance between one and three months for nationals of China and India, while EB3 for nationals of the Philippines will advance over six months to June 15, 2007.  On the other hand, there will be no forward movement in November in the EB3 category for other countries, as that date will remain at August 15, 2015.

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 a full year (June 1, 2001 to June 1, 2002) in the first preference (F1) for nationals of the Philippines.

Only three categories will see any movement in the “Dates for Filing.” The F2B category (Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Lawful Permanent Residents) for nationals of Mexico will advance three months to April 1, 1996, while the same category for nationals of the Philippines will advance four months to May 1, 2005.  The F4 category (Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens) for nationals of Mexico will advance one month to June 1, 1998.

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 November 2015 Visa Bulletin.

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