Highlights
- EB-1 remains current for all countries.
- Final Action Dates:
- EB-2 China advanced by over 4 months to November 15, 2018, and EB-3 China retrogressed by almost 8 months to March 22, 2018.
- EB-2 India advanced by 3 months to December 1, 2011, and EB-3 India retrogressed by 2 years to January 15, 2012.
- Dates For Filing:
- EB-2 China advanced by 5 months to February 1, 2019, and EB-3 China retrogressed by almost 8 months to April 1, 2018.
- EB-2 India advanced by 6 months to January 8, 2013, and EB-3 India retrogressed by almost 2 years to January 22, 2012.
FINAL ACTION DATES (Chart A):
China:
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EB-2: Advanced by 4 months to November 15, 2018.
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EB-3: Retrogressed by 8 months to March 22, 2018.
India:
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EB-2: Advanced by 3 months to December 1, 2011.
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EB-3: Retrogressed by 2 years to January 15, 2012.
Others:
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EB-1: Current for all countries.
DATES FOR FILING (Chart B):
China:
- EB-2: Advanced by 5 months to February 1, 2019.
- EB-3: Retrogressed by 8 months to April 1, 2018.
India:
- EB-2: Advanced by 6 months to January 8, 2013.
- EB-3: Retrogressed by 2 years to January 22, 2012.
Others:
- EB-1: Current for all countries.
PLEASE NOTE: The USCIS has indicated they will accept adjustment of status applications pursuant to Dates for Filing (Chart B) for November 2021 at this time. For more information, please visit the USCIS website.
Next Steps and Strategies
For those with a priority date that was current under the final action chart for the month of October, visas are still available for the month of October. Pending cases with a current priority date under final action may still be adjudicated until the end of the month of October. After October, if priority dates do not bounce forward again, as USCIS completes the review of the case, they will hold your case in abeyance until the priority date is current again under the final action chart. 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
With the EB-1 category continuing to remain current for all countries, EIG expects that EB-1 will continue progressing the same with each visa bulletin. For China and India, EB-2 advanced in the November visa bulletin under the Final Action Dates chart. We anticipate that EB-2 for both India and China will see positive progression in the coming months. EB-3 for China and India did retrogress significantly. We do anticipate further retrogression for the end of 2021.
The Dates for Filing chart advanced for both China and India under EB-2 but did retrogress for both China and India 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 for a visa to be approved. However, the retrogression may limit individuals from filing in the EB-3 category for the remainder of the year, depending upon whether USCIS decides to use Chart A or Chart B for future months. The State Department confirmed, “It has been necessary to retrogress both the China-mainland born and India Employment Third preference final action dates. This is a direct result of extraordinarily heavy applicant demand for numbers, primarily by Citizenship and Immigration Services offices for adjustment of status cases.”
The EIG team closely monitors changes to the monthly visa bulletin and determines the best plan of action 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 November 2021 can be found here.