USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications based on August’s Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates chart. To file in August, foreign nationals must have a priority date earlier than the listed date for their category and country.
EB Category Alert:
- The Final Action dates and Dates for Filing for India EB-2 and EB-3 will advance by one month in August.
- The Final Action date for EB-2 India will advance to July 15, 2012, and the Date for Filing to July 22, 2012.
- The Final Action date for EB-3 India will advance to October 22, 2012, and the Date for Filing to November 1, 2012.
- The State Department projects that the EB-3 Final Action date will likely retrogress or become unavailable in September.
Employment-Based Visa Final Action Dates for August
The State Department’s August Visa Bulletin indicates that the final action cutoff dates for issuing an immigrant visa or approving an adjustment of status application are as follows:
EB-1: China will remain at November 1, 2022, and India will stay at February 1, 2022. All other countries will continue to be current.
EB-2: China will stay at March 1, 2020, and India will move forward by one month to July 15, 2012. The other countries will continue to remain at March 15, 2023.
EB-3: Professionals and Skilled Workers: China will retain the date of September 1, 2020, while India will move forward to October 22, 2012. The other countries will maintain the date of December 1, 2021.
EB-5: For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), the priority date for China will remain at December 15, 2015, and for India, it will stay at December 1, 2020. All other countries will continue to be current. The EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will also remain current.
Final Action Dates For Employment-Based Preference Cases
| Employment- based |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 01NOV22 | 01FEB22 | C | C |
| 2nd | 15MAR23 | 01MAR20 | 15JUL12 | 15MAR23 | 15MAR23 |
| 3rd | 01DEC21 | 01SEP20 | 22OCT12 | 01DEC21 | 01DEC21 |
| Other Workers | 01JAN21 | 01JAN17 | 22OCT12 | 01JAN21 | 01MAY20 |
| 4th | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 |
| Certain Religious Workers | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 |
| 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5) |
C | 15DEC15 | 01DEC20 | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Rural (20%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
Dates For Filing Of Employment-Based Visa Applications
| Employment- based |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 01JAN23 | 08FEB22 | C | C |
| 2nd | 22MAR23 | 01JUN20 | 22JUL12 | 22MAR23 | 22MAR23 |
| 3rd | 01FEB23 | 01JUL21 | 01NOV12 | 01FEB23 | 01JAN23 |
| Other Workers | 08JAN21 | 01JUN17 | 01NOV12 | 08JAN21 | 15MAY20 |
| 4th | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 |
| Certain Religious Workers | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 |
| 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5) |
C | 01JAN17 | 01APR22 | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (Rural – 20%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (High Unemployment – 10%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (Infrastructure – 2%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
The August Dates for Filing chart shows a one-month advancement for the India EB-2 and EB-3 categories. The Date for Filing cutoff for India EB-2 is now July 22, 2012, and for India EB-3, it is November 1, 2012.
In the days ahead, USCIS will update its Visa Bulletin webpage to announce whether it will accept adjustment of status applications in August based on the Final Action Dates chart or the Dates for Filing chart.
Family-Based Visa Final Action Dates August
F1: Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens: 23,400 plus any unused numbers from the fourth preference category..
F2: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:
- F2A: Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit.
- F2B: Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years or older) of permanent residents are allocated 23% of the total second preference limit.
F3: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens: 23,400, plus any unused numbers from the first and second preference categories.
F4: Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens: 65,000, plus any unused numbers from the first three preference categories.
Final Action Dates For Family-Sponsored Preference Cases
| Family- Sponsored |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA-mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 22OCT15 | 22OCT15 | 22OCT15 | 08MAY02 | 01MAR12 |
| F2A | 15NOV21 | 15NOV21 | 15NOV21 | 01FEB21 | 15NOV21 |
| F2B | 01MAY16 | 01MAY16 | 01MAY16 | 15JUL04 | 22OCT11 |
| F3 | 01APR10 | 01APR10 | 01APR10 | 01MAR00 | 08SEP02 |
| F4 | 01AUG07 | 01AUG07 | 22JAN06 | 08FEB01 | 01FEB04 |
Dates For Filing Family-Sponsored Visa Applications
| Family- Sponsored |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01APR05 | 22APR15 |
| F2A | 15JUN24 | 15JUN24 | 15JUN24 | 15JUN24 | 15JUN24 |
| F2B | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01MAY05 | 01OCT13 |
| F3 | 01JAN11 | 01JAN11 | 01JAN11 | 15JUN01 | 08NOV03 |
| F4 | 01MAR08 | 01MAR08 | 15JUN06 | 30APR01 | 01APR06 |
Diversity Immigrant (DV) Category For August
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately |
|
| AFRICA | 75,000 | Except: Algeria 74,900 Egypt 50,000 Morocco 70,000 |
| ASIA | 15,000 | Except: Iran 14,500 Nepal 12,000 |
| EUROPE | 30,000 | Except: Russia 29,500 Uzbekistan 12,500 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) | 20 | |
| OCEANIA | 2,000 | |
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
3,150 |
The Diversity Immigrant (DV) Category Rank Cut-Offs Which Will Apply In September
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately |
|
| AFRICA | Current | Except: Algeria 108,500 Egypt 57,000 Morocco 70,000 |
| ASIA | 27,500 | Except: Iran 22,000 Nepal 13,000 |
| EUROPE | 50,000 | Except: Russia 49,500 Uzbekistan 17,000 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) | Current | |
| OCEANIA | 2,700 | |
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
5,000 |
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