LawFlash

US Department of State Releases April 2019 Visa Bulletin

March 20, 2019

In the April 2019 visa bulletin issued by the US Department of State, EB-1 remains backlogged for all country allotments, advancing by only a maximum of one month.

The US Department of State has released its April 2019 Visa Bulletin, setting out per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of status adjustments and consular immigrant visa application filings and approvals.

What Does the April 2019 Visa Bulletin Say?

The bulletin includes both a Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart and an Application Final Action Dates chart. The former indicates when intending immigrants may file their applications for adjustments of status or immigrant visas, and the latter indicates when adjustment of status applications or immigrant visa applications may be approved and permanent residence granted. Pursuant to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS in April 2019 must use the “Final Action Dates” chart below.

To be eligible to receive approval of a pending employment-based (E-B) adjustment application in April 2019, a foreign national must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for his or her preference category and country.

Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Class

EB

All Charge-
ability
Areas Except
Those Listed

China
(mainland
born)

El Salvador,
Guatemala,
and Honduras

India

Mexico

Philippines

Vietnam

1st

01FEB18 (was 01JAN18)

22FEB17

01FEB18 (was 01JAN18)

22FEB17

01FEB18 (was 01JAN18)

01FEB18 (was 01JAN18)

01FEB18 (was 01JAN18)

2nd

C

01APR16 (was 01JAN16)

C

12APR09 (was 09APR09)

C

C

C

3rd

C

01AUG15 (was 08JUN15)

C

22JUN09 (was 22MAY09)

C

01MAR18 (was 01DEC17)

C

Other Workers

C

22AUG07 (was 15AUG07)

C

22JUN09 (was 22MAY09)

C

01MAR18 (was 01DEC17)

C



On the Final Action Dates chart, the cutoff dates for EB-1 for “All Chargeability Areas”, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam will advance only slightly, remaining backlogged by 14 months to February 1, 2018. For EB-2, the cutoff dates for these countries will remain “current,” as will the EB-3 cutoff dates for the worldwide allotment, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Vietnam. The EB-3 cutoff date for the Philippines will advance three months to March 1, 2018.

For China and India, EB-1 will not advance, remaining at February 22, 2017. The EB-2 cutoff for China will advance three months to April 1, 2016, and the EB-2 cutoff for India will move just three days, to April 12, 2009. The cutoff date for EB-3 China will move to August 1, 2015, and the cutoff date for EB-3 India will advance one month to June 22, 2009.

To be eligible to file an employment-based (E-B) adjustment of status application in April 2019, a foreign national must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for his or her preference category and country.

Dates for Filing Visa Applications

EB

All Charge-
ability
Areas Except
Those Listed

China
(mainland
born)

El Salvador,
Guatemala,
and Honduras

India

Mexico

Philippines

1st

01JUN18

01OCT17

01JUN18

01OCT17

01JUN18

01JUN18

2nd

C

01JUL16 (was 01MAY16)

C

01JUN09 (was 22MAY09)

C

C

3rd

C

01JAN16

C

01APR10

C

01JUL18 (was 01MAR18)

Other Workers

C

01JUN08

C

01APR10

C

01JUL18 (was 01MAR18)



The Dates for Filing chart shows little change since March. EB-1 remains backlogged to June 1, 2018 for all chargeable countries, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines. The EB-2 cutoff dates for each of the aforementioned countries will remain current, as will the EB-3 cutoff dates, with the exception of the EB-3 allotment for the Philippines, which will advance four months to July 1, 2018. The cutoff dates for “other workers” from all chargeable countries, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico will also remain current. And for Philippines “other workers,” the cutoff will advance four months to July 1, 2018.

For China and India, the EB-1 cutoff date will remain at October 1, 2017. For EB-2 China, the cutoff date will advance two months to July 1, 2016, and for EB-2 India, it will advance just 10 days to June 1, 2009. The EB-3 allotments for both China and India will not advance, remaining at January 1, 2016 and April 1, 2010, respectively. The cutoff date for “other workers” from these two countries will also not advance, remaining at June 1, 2008, for China and April 1, 2010, for India.

Contacts

If you have any questions or would like more information on the issues discussed in this alert, please contact any of the following Morgan Lewis lawyers:

Washington, DC
Shannon A. Donnelly
Eleanor Pelta
Eric S. Bord

Miami
Laura C. Garvin