April 2021 Visa Bulletin
According to the State Department’s April Visa Bulletin, final action cutoff dates for issuance of an immigrant visa will be as follows:
- EB-1: China and India join all other countries and become current in April.
- EB-2: China will advance by just under seven weeks to September 1, 2016, while India will advance by three and a half months to May 1, 2010. All other countries will remain current.
- EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: Cutoff dates for China will advance five weeks to March 15, 2018, and for India will advance two months to September 1, 2010. All other countries will remain current in April.
- EB-5: The Regional and Non-Regional Center programs will remain current for all countries except China and Vietnam. China will remain at August 15, 2015, while Vietnam will advance by almost two months to December 15, 2017.
In the coming days, USCIS is expected to announce on its own Visa Bulletin web page the cutoff dates for acceptance of adjustment of status applications next month. That announcement will clarify whether USCIS will accept adjustment applications based on the Final Action dates chart, as it did last month, or on the Dates for Filing Chart. The April Dates for Filing remain largely unchanged from March, though the EB-2 and EB-3 China dates have advanced modestly.
Impact of President Biden’s decision to rescind the immigrant visa ban
In spite of President Biden’s February 24, 2021 order to rescind the Trump-era proclamation that suspended certain immigrant entries, visa application backlogs coupled with reduced consular operations due to COVID-19 public health measures will continue to limit the issuance of immigrant visas by U.S. consulates abroad. Immigrant visa (IV) applicants who are no longer subject to the immigrant ban may see their cases move forward, but should expect delays as consulates continue to phase in routine services and work through backlogs. Those previously refused under the IV ban should await further instruction from the U.S. consulate that handled their application.