May 2018 Visa Bulletin Released

The U.S. Department of State has released the May 2018 Visa Bulletin:

As previously reported in last month edition of the visa bulletin, the EB-1 category for India and China remains with a cut-off date of January 1, 2012; these categories remain unchanged from last month’s visa bulletin. This trend was observed during the last fiscal year, and based on EIG’s observation, we anticipate that these categories will revert back to current on October 1, 2018, at the start of the new fiscal year.

In the May 2018 release of the visa bulletin, Vietnam is now listed as having a per-country limit, however, for the month of May 2018, this only impacts the EB-5 category, all other categories remain current for persons born in Vietnam.

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 April, USCIS has made a determination to use the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based, but for family-based categories is accepting applications based on the Dates of Filing chart. 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 May. 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 May 2018 Visa Bulletin can be found here and is summarized below:

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

• Persons in the EB-2 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, Vietnam, or in the worldwide quota are current. This category remains 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 September 1, 2014. 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 December 22, 2008. This category remains unchanged.

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Vietnam, or in the worldwide quota are current. This category remains 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 June 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 May 1, 2008. 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, 2017. 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.

• Persons in the EB-2 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, or in the worldwide quota are current. This category remains 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 February 1, 2015. 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 April 1, 2009. This category advanced by 1 month 24 days. 

• Persons in the EB-3 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or in the worldwide quota are current. This category remains 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, 2016. 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 September 1, 2008. 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 July 1, 2017. This category remains unchanged.

• Persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of April 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 September 01, 2014. This category remains unchanged.

• Persons in the worldwide quota, India, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.