The U.S. Department of State released the August 2017 Visa Bulletin today.
Next month’s visa bulletin imposes a cut-off date for the EB-2 Worldwide, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the Philippines categories. This was hinted at during the AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) Liason’s monthly check-in with Mr. Charles (“Charlie”) Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS), on April 16, 2017. Mr. Oppenheim stated that the increased number of applications received by the agency called for this cut-off date for the EB-2 category in August. The DOS stated that the EB-2 category will once again go back to CURRENT at the beginning of the new fiscal year in October 2017. In contrast, EB-3 Worldwide, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico are now current.
The earlier imposed final action cut-off date for EB-1 India and China remains in place, and is likely to be unchanged until the new fiscal year (October 1, 2017). Additionally, EB-2 and EB-3 categories for India and China see very little movement, with EB-2 China advancing by 1 month, and EB-3 India advancing by 5 months.
If you have questions about your priority date and how next month’s visa bulletin will/may impact your green card case, please reach out to your EIG attorney.
PLEASE NOTE: For the month of July, USCIS has made a determination to use the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based 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 August. EIG will continue to monitor the situation and provide an update when USCIS has made a determination. For more information, please visit the USCIS website.
The August 2017 Visa Bulletin can be further summarized below:
Application Final Action Dates (dates when visas may be issued)
EB-1
- Persons in the EB-1 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of January 1, 2012. 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 January 1, 2012. This category remains unchanged.
- All persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.
EB-2
- Persons in the EB-2 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of April 22, 2013. This category advanced by 1 month.
- 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 22, 2008. This category remains unchanged.
- All persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of April 1, 2015. This category has retrogressed.
EB-3
- Persons in the EB-3 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or in the worldwide quota are current. This category has advanced.
- 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, 2012. 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 July 15, 2006. This category advanced by 5 months.
- 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 June 1, 2015. This category advanced by 1 year 17 days.
EB-4
- Persons in the EB-4 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of September 15, 2015. This category advanced by 1 month.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, China, and the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.
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 June 15, 2014. This category advanced by 7 days.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, and the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.
Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply)
EB-1
- All countries are current. This category remains unchanged.
EB-2
- 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, 2013. 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 February 1, 2009. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, Mexico, and the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.
EB-3
- 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 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, 2007. This category advanced by 3 months.
- 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, 2016. This category advanced by 6 months.
- Persons in the worldwide quota and Mexico are current. This category remains unchanged.
EB-4
- All countries are current. This category remains unchanged.
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 September 01, 2014. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, India, Mexico, and the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.
The complete Visa Bulletin for August 2017 can be found here.