US Department of State Releases April 2018 Visa Bulletin

Final Action dates for China and India EB-1 categories will retrogress, while EB-2 China and EB-3 India will advance.

The US Department of State has released its April 2018 Visa Bulletin  setting out per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of status adjustments and consular immigrant visa application filings and approvals.

What Does the April 2018 Visa Bulletin Say?

The bulletin includes both a Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart and an Application Final Action Dates chart. The former indicates when intending immigrants may file their applications for adjustments of status or immigrant visas, and the latter indicates when adjustment of status applications or immigrant visa applications may be approved and permanent residence granted. Unless otherwise indicated on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS must use the Application Final Action Dates chart below. USCIS has not yet indicated which set of cutoff dates will control in April, and has stated that it expects to provide this information within a week.

To be eligible to file an employment-based (EB) adjustment application in April 2018, a foreign national must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for his or her preference category and country (changes from last month’s Visa Bulletin are shown in yellow).

Application Final Action Dates

On the Application Final Action Dates chart, the cutoff dates for EB-1 for all chargeable countries except China and India, and the EB-2 cutoff dates for the rest of the world and the El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines allotment will remain “current.”Due to very high demand in the Outstanding Researchers and Professors categories, a cutoff date of January 1, 2012 will be imposed for EB-1 China and India. These allotments will retrogress by more than six years, to January 1, 2012. Should demand for employment based EB-1 numbers decline, there could be some movement prior to the end of the fiscal year. The EB-2 cutoff for China will advance by nine months to August 1, 2014. Cutoff dates for EB-2 India will move forward one week to December 22, 2008. Nationals of China and India who qualify for the EB-1 category should attempt to file their adjustment of status applications before April 1.

The EB-3 cutoff dates for the worldwide allotment as well as for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico will remain “current.” The cutoff date for EB-3 China will advance by six–and-a-half months to June 1, 2015, and the cutoff date for EB-3 India will advance by thirteen months to February 1, 2008. The cutoff date for EB-3 Philippines will advance by eight months to January 1, 2017.

Note that for China, the EB-3 cutoff dates continue to be significantly ahead of the EB-2 cutoff dates (June 1, 2015 vs August 1, 2014).

Dates for Filing Visa Applications

The Dates for Filing chart shows advancement for India and the Philippines cutoff dates only. Cutoff dates for EB-3 India and India “other workers” will advance by three months to April 1, 2008. Cutoff dates for EB-3 Philippines and Philippines “other workers” will advance by nine months to July 1, 2017.

EB-1 will remain “current” for all chargeable countries, including India and China. The EB-2 cutoff dates for the rest of the world and the El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines allotment will also remain “current.” Cutoff dates for EB-2 India will remain at February 8, 2009, and for China “other workers” the cutoff dates will remain at June 1, 2008.