Today, the U.S. Department of State released the October 2017 Visa Bulletin.
As predicted, EB-1 India and China will revert back to being current, and EB-2 Worldwide, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the Philippines will be current again with the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2017. In addition, the EB-3 China category will advance significantly, moving ahead by two years.
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 September, USCIS has made a determination to use the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based and family-based categories. 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 October. 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 October 2017 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 has become 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 May 22, 2013. This category advanced by 8 days.
- Persons in the EB-2 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of September 15, 2008. This category advanced by 24 days.
- All persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, or the Philippines are current. This category has become current.
EB-3
- 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, 2014. This category advanced by 2 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 October 15, 2006. 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 December 1, 2015. This category advanced by 1 month.
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 November 1, 2015. This category advanced by 10 days.
- Persons in the EB-4 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 by 4 months.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, China, India, or 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 June 22, 2014. This category advanced by 7 days.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, or 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 November 15, 2013. This category advanced by 1 month 14 days.
- Persons in the EB-2 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of February 8, 2009. This category advanced by 7 days.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or 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 September 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 January 1, 2008. This category advanced by 1 year.
- 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 August 1, 2016. This category advanced by 7 months.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Mexico are current. This category remains unchanged.
EB-4
- 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 has retrogressed.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, China, India, Mexico or 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 October 01, 2014. This category advanced by 1 month.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, India, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or the Philippines are current. This category remains unchanged.
The complete Visa Bulletin for October 2017 can be found here.