June 2019 Visa Bulletin Released

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released today the June 2019 Visa Bulletin. Most notably the June 2019 sees significant retrogression in the EB-1 India category, with the institution of a cut-off date of January 1, 2015. For foreign nationals born in India, the EB-1 category has always been ‘the option’ to pursue as it afforded individuals the opportunity to receive their immigrant visa much faster than if it were processed under the EB-2 or EB-3 categories. While frustrating and alarming, the Department of State did state in Section D of the June 2019 Visa Bulletin that the retrogression is expected to be temporary, with the category returning to at least February 22, 2017, in October, the first month of fiscal year 2020. Further updates will be provided as we monitor the movement of the monthly visa bulletin.

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 May, USCIS has made a determination to accept applications based on the Final Action Dates Chart (Chart A) for the employment-based categories and applications based on the Dates for Filing Chart (Chart B) for the 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 June. 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 June 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 August 1, 2016. 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 19, 2009. This category advanced by 3 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 September 15, 2015. This category advanced by 24 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 July 1, 2009. 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 November 1, 2018. This category advanced by 5 months.

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, 2016. 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 June 1, 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 January 1, 2019. This category advanced by 3 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 September 1, 2016. This category advanced by 2 months.

• 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 November 1, 2014. This category advanced by 17 days.

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