September 2016 Visa Bulletin Released
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the September 2016 Visa Bulletin. Next month’s Visa Bulletin reports only a few slight advancements in the Final Action Dates Chart.
Most notably, the Philippines EB-3 category shows an advancement of 1 year, 1 month and 16 days. Additionally, the India EB-2 and EB-3 categories show an advancement of 3 months and 7 days. The status for the Employment-Based EB-1 category for both India and China has remained unchanged since the August 2016 Visa Bulletin, with a cut-off date of January 1, 2010. DOS expects the EB-1 category for India and China to return to “current” by the October 2016 Visa Bulletin. Moreover, categories that were current in the EB-2 and EB-4 categories prior to the August 2016 Visa Bulletin are also expected to return to “current” in the October 2016 Visa Bulletin.
In the September 2016 Visa Bulletin, the Dates for Filing Chart, EB1, EB2, and EB3 categories remain unchanged since the August 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
- Persons in the EB-1 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-1 category and born in India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of January 1, 2010. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines remain 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 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 February 22, 2005. This category advanced by 3 months and 7 days.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of February 1, 2014. This category remains unchanged.
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 May 1, 2016. This category advanced 1 month and 16 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 May 1, 2016. This category advanced 1 month and 16 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 February 15, 2005. This category advanced by 3 months and 7 days.
- Persons in the EB-3 category and born in Mexico are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off date of May 1, 2016. This category advanced 1 month and 17 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 July 1, 2010. This category advanced by 1 year, 1 month and 16 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 India are current if they have a priority date before the cut-off 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 remains unchanged.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, China, 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.
- Persons in 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.
- Persons in 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, 2013. This category remains unchanged.
- Persons in 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.
- Persons in the worldwide quota, India, Mexico, and the Philippines remain current.
The complete Visa Bulletin for September 2016 can be found here.