In the September 2018 Visa Bulletin (VB), the EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 categories have retrogressed for all countries. The non-regional center EB-5 category for all countries (except China and Vietnam) remains current; however, the regional center EB-5 category for all countries will become unavailable unless the current EB-5 program is extended past the most recent extension, which expires on September 30, 2018.
This month’s VB highlights are as follows:
EB-1: All countries have retrogressed. Apart from India and China, all countries now have a final action date of June 1, 2016. However, in the coming months, October final action dates are expected to be imposed for all countries with limited (if any) forward movement expected prior to December. The final action dates for India and China still are retrogressed to January 1, 2012, which has been the case since the April 2018 VB.
EB-2: All countries have retrogressed. Apart from India, all countries now have a final action date of January 1, 2013, but will return to being current in October, and are expected to remain current in the coming months. China and India continue to be the exceptions in that both countries will continue to have final action dates, and neither country is anticipated to experience meaningful movement for the next few months.
EB-3: All countries have retrogressed. Apart from India and China, all countries now have a final action date of November 1, 2016, but will return to being current in October, and are expected to remain current in the coming months. The exceptions are the Philippines, China and India, which will continue to have final action dates and which are not anticipated to experience any meaningful movement in the coming months.
EB-5: In March 2018, the Regional Center Program was extended through September 30, 2018. If no legislative action is finalized extending the regional center portion of the EB-5 program after that date, the regional center final action dates will remain “Unavailable” for all countries in this visa bulletin. The non-regional center dates for all countries continue to remain current except for China and Vietnam, both of which only experienced nominal movement and neither of which is expected to see any large movement in the coming months.
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.
