In the August 2019 visa bulletin issued by the US Department of State, all employment-based classifications are backlogged.
The US Department of State has released its August 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 (EB) filings for adjustment of status. This means that individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS in August 2019 must use the “Final Action Dates” chart below.
To be eligible to receive approval of a pending EB adjustment application in August 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 |
01JUL16 (was 22APR18) |
01JUL16 (was 08MAY17) |
01JUL16 (was 22APR18) |
01JAN15 (no change) |
01JUL16 (was 22APR18) |
01JUL16 (was 22APR18) |
01JUL16 (was 22APR18) |
|
2nd |
01JAN17 (was C) |
01JAN17 (was 01NOV16) |
01JAN17 (was C) |
02MAY09 (was 24APR09) |
01JAN17 (was C) |
01JAN17 (was C) |
01JAN17 (was C) |
|
3rd |
01JUL16 (was C) |
01JUL16 (was 01JAN16) |
01JUL16 (was C) |
01JAN06 (was 01JUL09) |
01JUL16 (was C) |
01JUL16 (was C) |
01JUL16 (was C) |
|
Other Workers |
01JUL16 (was C) |
22NOV07 (no change) |
01JUL16 (was C) |
01JAN06 (was 01JUL09) |
01JUL16 (was C) |
01JUL16 (was C) |
01JUL16 (was C) |
On the Final Action Dates chart, the India EB-1 cutoff date will remain the same at January 1, 2015. It is anticipated that this backlog will continue for the rest of the 2019 fiscal year. For China, the EB-1 cutoff date retrogresses to July 1, 2016. The cutoff dates for EB-1 for All Chargeability Areas, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam all will retrogress approximately 22 months to July 1, 2016.
In EB-2, the cutoff dates for EB-2 All Chargeability Areas, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam will all retrogress to January 1, 2017 (formerly all “Current”). The EB-3 cutoff dates for the worldwide allotment, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam will all retrogress to July 1, 2016. The cutoff date for EB-3 India took the biggest hit, retrogressing more than three years to January 1, 2006.
Good news: The EB-2 cutoff for China will advance two months, to January 1, 2017, and the EB-2 cutoff for India will move ahead a week, to May 2, 2009. The cutoff date for EB-3 China will advance by six months to July 1, 2016.
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