April 2019 Visa Bulletin Released

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released today the April 2019 Visa Bulletin.

The April 2019 visa bulletin sees minimal advances in the EB-1 categories for the Final Action Chart (Chart A) and continues to apply cut-off dates to these categories. The Final Action Chart for the EB-3 India category continues to advance ahead of its EB-2 counterpart, while the EB-3 China category has slowed down significantly allowing its EB-2 counterpart to continue to move ahead.

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 March, 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 April. 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 April 2019 Visa Bulletin can be found here and is summarized below:

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

EB-1
  • 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 February 1, 2018. These categories advanced by 1 month.
  • 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 22, 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 February 22, 2017. This category remains unchanged.
EB-2
  • 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 April 1, 2016. This category advanced by 3 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 12, 2009This category advanced by 3 days. 
EB-3
  • 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 August 1, 2015This 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 June 22, 2009This category advanced by 1 month.
  • 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 March 1, 2018. This category advanced by 3 months.
EB-4
  • 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 March 8, 2016This category advanced by 7 days.
  • Persons in the EB-4 category and born in Mexico are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of April 1, 2018This category advanced by 3 months. 
  • Persons in the worldwide quota, China, India, the Philippines or Vietnam are currentThese categories remain 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 15, 2014This category advanced by 7 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 August 22, 2016This category advanced by 1 month 7 days.
  • Persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, or the Philippines are currentThis category remains 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, 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 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 October 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 October 1, 2017. This category remains unchanged.
EB-2
  • Persons in the EB-2 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, or in the worldwide quota are currentThese 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 July 1, 2016This 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, 2009This category advanced by 10 days. 
EB-3
  • 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, 2016This 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, 2010This 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 July 1, 2018This category advanced by 4 months. 
EB-4 
  • 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 15, 2016This category advanced by 14 days.
  • Persons in the worldwide quota, China, India, Mexico or the Philippines are currentThis 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 October 08, 2014. This category advanced by 7 days.
  • 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 April 2019 can be found here.