July 2016 Visa Bulletin Released
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the July 2016 Visa Bulletin. Next month’s Visa Bulletin reports only a few slight advancements in the Final Action Dates Chart.
Most notably, DOS has added a new section entitled “Visa Availability in the Coming Months.” This new section predicts visa availability for the next two months based on current applicant demand patterns. However, DOS reminds readers that Final Action Date movements predicted are never guaranteed. DOS also announced that the Employment-based Fourth (E4) category for persons born in Mexico has reached its per-country limit for FY-2016, which ends September 30th. Thus, the final action date is no longer current and, starting July 1, 2016, applicants from Mexico who filed Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant on or after January 1, 2010 will not be able to obtain an immigrant visa or adjust status until new visas become available.
In the July 2016 Visa Bulletin, the Dates for Filing Chart, EB1, EB2, and EB3 categories remain unchanged since the April 2016 Visa Bulletin.
PLEASE NOTE: At this time, USCIS is not accepting pre-filings for any employment based categories. EIG will continue to monitor the situation and will notify individuals once their priority date is current for filing. For more information, please visit the USCIS website.
The Visa Bulletin can be further summarized below:
Application Final Action Dates (dates when visas may be issued):
EB-1
- All countries remain current.
EB-2
- Persons in the EB-2 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of January 1, 2010. 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 November 1, 2004. This category has advanced by 1 month.
- The worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines remain current.
EB-3
- Persons in the EB-3 category and falling into the worldwide quota are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of March 1, 2016. This category advanced 15 days.
- 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, 2010. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-3 category and born in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of March 1, 2016. This category advanced 15 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 October 22, 2004. This category has advanced by 1 month.
- Persons in the EB-3 category and born in Mexico are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of March 1, 2016. This category advanced 15 days.
- 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 February 15, 2009. This category has advanced by 3 months and 14 days.
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 January 1, 2010. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the EB-4 category and born in Mexico are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of January 1, 2010. This category has changed.
- The worldwide quota, China, India, and the Philippines remain current.
EB-5
- Persons in the EB-5 category Non Regional Center (C5 and T5) and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of February 15, 2014. This category remains unchanged.
- The worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, and the Philippines remain current.
Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply):
EB-1
- All countries remain current.
EB-2
- Persons in the EB-2 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of June 1, 2013. 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 July 1, 2009. This category remains unchanged.
- The worldwide quota, Mexico, and the Philippines remain current.
EB-3
- Persons in the EB-3 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of May 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 July 1, 2005. This 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 January 1, 2010. This category remains unchanged.
- The worldwide quota and Mexico are now current.
EB-4
- All countries are current.
EB-5
- Persons in the EB-5 category and born in China are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of May 1, 2015. This category remains unchanged.
- The worldwide quota, India, Mexico, and the Philippines remain current.
The complete Visa Bulletin for July 2016 can be found here.