October 2016 Visa Bulletin Released
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the October 2016 Visa Bulletin. Next month’s Visa Bulletin reports significant advancements in the Final Action Dates Chart. Most notably, and as the DOS expected, the EB-1 category for India and China has returned to “current.” Similarly, the EB-2 category for the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines has returned to “current.” The EB-4 category for the worldwide quota, India, and Mexico has also returned to “current.”
In the October 2016 Visa Bulletin, Dates for Filing Chart, the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories remain unchanged since the September 2016 Visa Bulletin, with a few exceptions: the EB-2 category for China and India has retrogressed by 3 months and 2 months, respectively; the EB-3 category for China has retrogressed by 1 year; and the EB-3 category for the Philippines has advanced by 8 months.
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 October 2016 Visa Bulletin can be further summarized below:
Application Final Action Dates (dates when visas may be issued):
EB-1
- All countries are current. This category advanced by 6 years, 8 month for China and India. This category remains unchanged for the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines.
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 February 15, 2012. This category advanced by 2 years, 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 January 15, 2007. This category advanced by 1 year, 10 months.
- All persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines are current. This category advanced by 2 years, 7 months.
EB-3
- Persons in the EB-3 category and born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or in the worldwide quota are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of June 1, 2016. This category advanced by 1 month.
- 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 22, 2013. This category advanced by 3 years.
- Persons in the EB-3 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of March 1, 2005. This category advanced by 14 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 December 1, 2010. This category advanced by 5 months.
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 June 15, 2015. This category advanced by 5 years, 5 months.
- Persons in the EB-4 category and born in India, or Mexico are current. This category advanced by 6 years, 8 months.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, China, and the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.
EB-5
- 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 February 22, 2014. This category advanced by 7 days.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, and the Philippines are current. 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.
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 March 1, 2013. This category retrogressed by 3 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 April 22, 2009. This category retrogressed by 2 months.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, Mexico, and the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.
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, 2014. This category retrogressed by 1 year.
- 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 September 1, 2013. This category advanced by 8 months.
- Persons in the worldwide quota and Mexico are current. This category remains unchanged.
EB-4
- All countries are current. This category remains unchanged.
EB-5
- 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 June 15, 2014. This category retrogressed by 10 months.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, India, Mexico, and the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.
The complete Visa Bulletin for October 2016 can be found here.