The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the November 2019 Visa Bulletin.
All employment-based categories see little to no movement for the month of November. The cut-off date for the EB-2 category for persons born in China has advanced since October 2019 but has continued to remain retrogressed since July 2019. The cut-off date for the EB-2 category for persons born in India has advanced one day since October 2019. The cut-off dates for the EB-3 categories for persons born in China or India remain unchanged. For EB-1 categories, cut-off dates have advanced for persons born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, Vietnam, China or in the worldwide quota while cut-off dates have remained unchanged for persons born in India. The Department of State makes no predictions for future movement of any cut-off dates. Dates for filing of employment-based visa applications have remained unchanged for the month of November.
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 November, 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 November. 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 November 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-1 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, Vietnam, or in the worldwide quota are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of June 1, 2018. These categories advanced by 1 months 10 days.
- Persons in the EB-1 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of February 1, 2017. This category advanced by 3 months.
- Persons in the EB-1 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of January 1, 2015. This category remains unchanged.
- 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 March 15, 2015. This category advanced by 2 months 14 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 13, 2009. This category advanced by 1 day.
- 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 November 1, 2015. 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 January 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 February 1, 2018. This category advanced by 3 months 17 days.
- Persons in the EB-4 category born in China, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, or in the worldwide quota are current. These categories remain unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-4 category and born in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of July 1, 2016. This category has remained unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-4 category and born in Mexico are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of July 22, 2017. This category advanced by 2 months 21 days.
EB-5
- 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 10 days.
- Persons in the EB-5 Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) category and born in Vietnam are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of November 15, 2016. This category advanced by 1 month.
- Persons in the EB-5 Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of December 8, 2017. This category has advanced by 16 days.
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- Persons in the EB-5 Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) category and born in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, or in the worldwide quota are current. These categories remain unchanged.
Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply)
EB-1
- Persons in the EB-1 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, or in the worldwide quota are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of July 1, 2019. These categories remain unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-1 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of September 1, 2017. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-1 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of March 15, 2017. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-2 category and born in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, 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 August 1, 2016. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-2 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 Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines 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 March 1, 2017. 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 February 1, 2010. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-4 category and born in China, India, Mexico, the Philippines, or in the worldwide quota are current. These categories remain unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-4 category and born in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of August 15, 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 January 1, 2015. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, India, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or the Philippines are current. These categories remain unchanged.
The complete Visa Bulletin for November 2019 can be found here.