Visa Bulletin – January

The Department of State posted the visa bulletin for January today.

USCIS advised that it will accept family and employment-based adjustment of status petitions for January based upon the filing date. See https://www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo for the updated information.

To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in January, employer-sponsored foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country. Where the dates in the Dates for Filing chart are less favorable than the Dates for Final Action chart, as is the case next month for most EB-3 countries, USCIS will accept adjustment applications from foreign nationals according to the Final Action Dates chart for that category only.

Immigrant Visa Availability in the Coming Months

In the January Bulletin, the State Department includes projections of immigrant visa availability through April or May 2020, as follows:

EB-1 worldwide is expected to advance rapidly for the next several months and could become current.  EB-1 China is expected to advance by up to three weeks per month, but little or no movement is expected for EB-1 India.

In the EB-2 category, China is expected to advance up to one month per month, while India is expected to advance by up to one week per month.  EB-2 worldwide is expected to retrogress during the second half of FY 2020.

EB-3 worldwide is expected to retrogress by March 2020.  EB-3 China is projected to advance by up to six weeks per month and India by up to three weeks per month.  EB-3 Philippines is expected to advance by up to one month per month.  In the EB-3 other worker subcategory, a worldwide cutoff date is likely by March 2020.

In the EB-5 subcategory, India is likely to advance rapidly in the coming months, while China is expected to advance at a slightly faster pace than in the past.  Limited advancement is expected for Vietnam.  For all other countries, the category is likely to remain current.