EB-1 and EB-2 China show little advance movement, while other dates remain mostly stagnant.
The US Department of State has released its July 2019 Visa Bulletin outlining per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of status adjustments and consular immigrant visa application filings and approvals.
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. As in the last several months, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to use the Final Action Dates Chart for employment-based filings for adjustment of status. This means that individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS in July 2019 will most likely use the “Final Action Dates” chart below.
To be eligible to receive approval of a pending employment-based (EB) adjustment application in June 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.
|
EB |
All Charge- |
China |
El Salvador, |
India |
Mexico |
Philippines |
Vietnam |
|
1st |
22APR18 |
08MAY17 |
22APR18 |
01JAN15 |
22APR18 |
22APR18 |
22APR18 |
|
2nd |
C |
01NOV16 |
C |
24APR09 (was 19APR09) |
C |
C |
C |
|
3rd |
C |
01JAN16 |
C |
01JUL09 |
C |
C (was 01NOV18) |
C |
|
Other Workers |
C |
22NOV07 |
C |
01JULY09 |
C |
C (was 01NOV18) |
C |
On the Final Action Dates chart, the India EB-1 cutoff date remains at January 1, 2015. For China, the EB-1 cutoff date will advance by 12 weeks to May 8, 2017. The cutoff date for EB-1 for “All Chargeability Areas,” El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam remains at April 22, 2018.
For EB-2, the cutoff dates for “All Chargeability Areas,” El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam will remain “current.” The EB-2 cutoff for China will advance by three months to November 1, 2016, and the EB-2 cutoff for India will move just five days to April 24, 2009.
The cutoff date for EB-3 China will advance by roughly 15 weeks to January 1, 2016, and the cutoff date for EB-3 India will remain at July 1, 2009. The EB-3 cutoff dates for the worldwide allotment, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Vietnam will remain current, and the EB-3 cutoff date for the Philippines will again be “current” in July 2019.
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