In the August 2019 Visa Bulletin (VB), the EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 categories are retrogressed for all countries. This is due to a steadily increasing level of Employment applicant demand since late May for adjustment of status cases filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with no indication that this increase will end. However, for October, the first month of fiscal year 2020, final action dates are expected to return to the final action dates seen in the July 2019 VB.
This month’s VB highlights are as follows:
EB-1: All countries remain retrogressed. India has a final action date of January 1, 2015. All other countries have retrogressed to a final action date of July 1, 2016. If in October 2019 (i.e. the first month of fiscal year 2020) the final action dates return to those seen in the July 2019 VB, China’s final action date is expected to return to May 17, 2017, whereas all other countries are anticipated to return to a final action date of April 22, 2018. India may remain with this final action date, as this is the same date seen in the July 2019 VB.
EB-2: All countries have retrogressed. All countries have a final action date of January 1, 2017. The exception is India, with a final action date of May 2, 2009. In the new fiscal year, all countries are anticipated to return to being current with the exception of India and China which should continue to have final action dates and are not expected to experience much movement forward.
EB-3: All countries have retrogressed. All countries have a final action date of July 1, 2016. The exception is India, with a final action date of January 1, 2006. Like the EB-2 category, other than India and China, all countries are expected to return to being current in the October 2019 VB.
EB-5: India, China, and Vietnam all have a final action date of October 15, 2014. This means a nominal advance for China and a retrogression for India and Vietnam. In the new fiscal year (i.e. October 2019) the regional center final action dates for all countries may become unavailable, as the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (H.J.Res.31) only authorized the regional center program through to September 30, 2019. The non-regional center category should remain current for all countries, although India, China and Vietnam should still have final action dates.
General Notes on Final Action Dates: The final action or cutoff date is effectively one’s place in line to immigrate based on the individual’s priority date. Individuals with priority dates earlier than the listed cut-off date on the VB are eligible to submit applications for adjustment of status (or consular visa applications) or if their applications are already pending may have their cases adjudicated. If one’s priority date is not “current”, neither agency may accept the case for processing nor adjudicate a pending case because the “visa is not available” if the final action dates is not “current.” The priority date is established a number of ways:
- PERM: The date on which the application is filed with the Department of Labor, provided that the PERM is approved and an I-140 is then filed and approved based on the PERM.
- EB1 & EB2 (NIW, Schedule A): The date on which the I-140 is filed with the USCIS, provided that the petition is approved.
- EB-5: The date on which the Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur is received by USCIS, provided that the petition is approved.
- Family-based immigration cases: The date on which the I-130 is filed with the USCIS, provided that the petition is approved.
Note that DOS looks at one’s country of birth in determining whether one is a national of a given country, not the country of citizenship. It is country of birth (principal alien or his/her spouse) that determines the country of chargeability to be “counted” against for purposes of permanent residency. Counting against the country of birth of one’s spouse is called “cross-chargeability.”
For general information on visa retrogression, please see our FAQ on this subject. For more information on the Visa Bulletin and country quota movements, including information about movement in the Family-Based Quotas, please see our DOS Visa Bulletin and Quota Movement page.
