February 2019 Visa Bulletin Released

Very few changes are observed in the February visa bulletin from the previous month’s publication. The EB-1 categories for the final action chart continue to have cut-off dates, and based on the Department of State’s predictions in Section E of the visa bulletin, these categories will continue to have cut-off dates through the month of May 2019. Section E further states that the EB-1 worldwide categories are expected to advance in increments of up to two months, while the EB-1 categories for China and India will potentially move at increments of up to one month.

As reported in last month’s issue of the ‘EIG Alert‘,  EB-3 India and China continue to move ahead of their EB-2 counterparts in the Dates for filing chart B. This phenomenon has created an increase in demand for the downgrading of petitions from EB-2 to EB-3, allowing applicants to take advantage of an earlier submission of their adjustment of status application (Form I-485).

The EIG team is closely monitoring changes to the monthly visa bulletin and determining the best plan of action for each case. We will be reaching out to individuals whose priority date will be current next month in order to initiate the next step of the green card process. We have also summarized frequently asked questions in our August 8th Issue of the EIG Dispatch. We encourage you to read this article to have a better grasp of the visa bulletin and to understand what your priority date means.

PLEASE NOTE: For the month of January, USCIS has made a determination to accept applications based on the Dates for Filing chart (Chart B) for both employment-based categories and family-based categories. At this time, USCIS has not announced whether it will be accepting pre-filings for any employment-based or family-based categories for the month of February. EIG will continue to monitor the situation and provide an update once USCIS has made a determination. For more information, please visit the USCIS website.

The February 2019 Visa Bulletin can be found here and is summarized below:

Application Final Action Dates (dates when visas may be issued)

• Persons in the EB-2 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, Vietnam, or in the worldwide quota are current. These categories remain unchanged.

• Persons in the EB-2 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of October 1, 2015. This category advanced by 2 months. 

• Persons in the EB-2 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of April 6, 2009. This category advanced by 5 days. 

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Vietnam, or in the worldwide quota are current. These categories remain unchanged.

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of July 1, 2015. This category advanced by 23 days.

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of April 22, 2009. This category advanced by 1 month 21 days.

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in the Philippines are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of August 1, 2017. This category advanced by 1 month 10 days.

Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply)

EB-1

• Persons in the EB-2 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, or in the worldwide quota are current. These categories remain unchanged. 

• Persons in the EB-2 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of November 1, 2015. This category advanced by 1 month 24 days. 

• Persons in the EB-2 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of May 22, 2009. This category remains unchanged. 

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or in the worldwide quota are current. These categories remain unchanged. 

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of January 1, 2016. This category remains unchanged.

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of April 1, 2010. This category remains unchanged. 

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in the Philippines are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of October 1, 2017. This category advanced by 2 months. 

• Persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of May 1, 2016. This category remains unchanged. 

• Persons in the EB-5 Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of October 01, 2014. This category remains unchanged. 

• Persons in the worldwide quota, India, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or the Philippines are current. These categories remain unchanged.