March 2016 Visa Bulletin Released
The U.S. Department of State has released the March 2016 Visa Bulletin.
In the Dates for Filing Chart, China sees an advancement in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories and the EB-3 category for Mexico and All Chargeability Areas is now current. 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.
In the March 2016 Final Action Chart, the EB-1 and EB-4 categories remain current and all other areas see an advancement. The Visa Bulletin can be summarized as follows:
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 August 1, 2012. This category has advanced by 5 months.
- Persons in the EB-2 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of October 15, 2008. This category has advanced by 2 months and 14 days.
- The worldwide quota, 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 January 1, 2016. This category has advanced by 3 months.
- 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, 2013. This category has advanced by 8 months.
- 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 15, 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 January 1, 2016. This category has 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 March 15, 2008. This category has advanced by 2 months and 7 days.
EB-4
- All countries 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 January 22, 2014. This category has advanced by 7 days.
- The worldwide quota, 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 has advanced by 5 months.
- 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 has advanced by 1 year and 7 months.
- 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 March 2016 can be found here.