EB-1 India retrogresses by more than two years; EB-2 China advances by slightly over two months.
The US Department of State has released its June 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 past several months, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to use the Final Action Date Chart for Employment-based filings for adjustment of status. This means that individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS in June 2019 must 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 (was 01MAR18) |
22FEB17 |
22APR18 (was 01MAR18) |
01JAN15 |
22APR18 (was 01MAR18) |
22APR18 (was 01MAR18) |
22APR18 (was 01MAR18) |
|
2nd |
C |
01AUG16 |
C |
19APR09 (was 16APR09) |
C |
C |
C |
|
3rd |
C |
15SEP15 |
C |
01JUL09 |
C |
01NOV18 (was 01JUN18) |
C |
|
Other Workers |
C |
01SEP07 |
C |
01JULY09 |
C |
01NOV18 (was 01JUN18) |
C |
On the Final Action Dates chart, the India EB-1 cutoff date will retrogress by over two years, to January 1, 2015. This is due to extremely high EB-1 number usage worldwide and the State Department’s need to limit future number use. This retrogression is expected to be temporary, with a full recovery of the Final Action Dates for India and China by October 2019, the first month of the new fiscal year. For China, the EB-1 cutoff date will remain at February 22, 2017. 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 approximately 14 months to 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,” 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 five months to November 1, 2018.
The EB-2 cutoff for China will advance by 11 weeks, to August 1, 2016, and the EB-2 cutoff for India will move just three days, to April 19, 2009. The cutoff date for EB-3 China will advance by three weeks to September 15, 2015, and the cutoff date for EB-3 India will remain at July 1, 2009.
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