Highlights
- EB-1 remains current for all countries.
- Final Action Dates:
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- EB-2 China remains unchanged with a cut-off date of April 1, 2019, and EB-3 China advances by 1 month to April 22, 2018.
- EB-2 India remains unchanged with a cut-off date of December 1, 2014, and EB-3 India advances by 1 month to February 15, 2012.
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- Dates For Filing:
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- EB-2 China remains unchanged with a cut-off of May 1, 2019, and EB-3 China advances by 1 month and 22 days with a cut-off date of May 22, 2018.
- EB-2 India remains unchanged with a cut-off date of January 1, 2015, and EB-3 India advances by 1 month to February 22, 2012.
| FINAL ACTION DATES (Chart A): | DATES FOR FILING (Chart B): |
China:
India:
Others:
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China:
India:
Others:
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PLEASE NOTE: The USCIS has confirmed they will accept adjustment of status applications pursuant to Final Action Dates (Chart A) for July 2022 at this time. For more information, please visit the USCIS website.
Next Steps and Strategies
Applicants that have their I-485, Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications pending with USCIS under the EB-3 category, who find that their priority date is no longer current under the EB-3 final action, but will become current under the EB-2 category, may benefit from an interfiling request to USCIS. An interfiling is the process by which an AOS applicant may request that USCIS change the basis of their pending application from one preference category to another. We invite you to contact your immigration counsel to inquire whether this strategy may benefit your specific case.
Our teams will continue to monitor the priority dates each month, and if a case would ever benefit from an EB-2 interfiling, we will review and flag those cases for further action.
Looking Forward
As reported in previous issues, EIG expects that EB-1 will continue progressing the same with each visa bulletin. Based on our observation of recent visa bulletins and the August visa bulletin, EB-2 for India and China may be at a standstill or see very limited progression through the end of the fiscal year. While the EB-3 category for both countries progressed approximately one month in August, it will most likely not see much more advancement.
The Dates for Filing chart advanced by 1 month for China and India in the EB-3 category and remained unchanged in the EB-2 category. This should not affect the processing of those individuals who already have an Adjustment of Status Application pending. Applicants’ priority dates will need to be current under the final action chart for an immigrant visa (green card) to be adjudicated. Therefore, when considering interfiling to EB-2, applicants should look at whether they are current in Chart A (Final Action Dates) and whether they are only current under EB-2.
The EIG team closely monitors changes to the monthly visa bulletin and determines the best action plan for each case. We will reach out to individuals whose priority date will be current next month to initiate the next step of the green card process.
For more information about the Visa Bulletin, we’ve summarized and answered frequently asked questions here. We encourage you to read this article to better understand what your priority date means.
The complete Visa Bulletin for August 2022 can be found here.