Highlights
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EB-1 remains current for all countries.
- Final Action Dates:
- EB-2 China advanced by 1 month and 11 days to March 1, 2019, and EB-3 China remains unchanged with a cut-off date of March 22, 2018.
- EB-2 India advanced by 5 months and 24 days to January 1, 2013, and EB-3 India remains unchanged with a cut-off date of January 15, 2012.
- Dates For Filing:
- EB-2 China remains unchanged with a cut-off date of April 1, 2019, and EB-3 China remains unchanged with a cut-off date of April 1, 2018.
- EB-2 India advanced 1 month and 25 days with a cut-off date of September 1, 2013, and EB-3 India remains unchanged with a cut-off date of January 22, 2012.
FINAL ACTION DATES (Chart A):
China:
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EB-2: Advanced by 1 month and 11 days to March 1, 2019.
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EB-3: Remains unchanged with a cut-off date of March 22, 2018.
India:
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EB-2: Advanced by 5 months and 24 days to January 1, 2013.
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EB-3: Remains unchanged with a cut-off date of January 15, 2012.
Others:
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EB-1: Current for all countries.
DATES FOR FILING (Chart B):
China:
- EB-2: Remains unchanged with a cut-off date of April 1, 2019.
- EB-3: Remains unchanged with a cut-off date of April 1, 2018.
India:
- EB-2: Advanced 1 month and 25 days with a cut-off date of September 1, 2013.
- EB-3: Remains unchanged with a cut-off date of January 22, 2012.
Others:
- EB-1: Current for all countries.
PLEASE NOTE: The USCIS has not yet indicated whether they will accept adjustment of status applications pursuant to Dates for Filing (Chart B) for February 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of Status (AOS) applications pending with USCIS under the EB-3 category, who find that their priority date is no longer current under the EB-3 final action, but will become current under the EB-2 category, may benefit from an interfiling request to USCIS.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, we also anticipate that EB-2 for India and China will see incremental progressions in the coming months. In contrast, the EB-3 category for both countries will most likely not see much advancement.
The Dates for Filing chart remained unchanged for China in both the EB-2 and EB-3 category. The Dates of Filing chart advanced for India in the EB-2 category and remained unchanged in the EB-3 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 February 2022 can be found here.