In the May 2022 Visa Bulletin, India EB-2 Final Action dates advance by two months, while China EB-2 Final Action dates remain unchanged.
The US Department of State has released its May 2022 Visa Bulletin, outlining per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of adjustment of status application and consular immigrant visa application filings and approvals.
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.
Each month, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) chooses which chart it will follow. For May 2022, the USCIS will follow the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based (EB) filings for adjustment of status. This means that individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with the USCIS in May 2022 must use the Dates for Filing chart below.
To be eligible to file an EB adjustment application in May 2022, a foreign national must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country. The “C” listing indicates that the category is current, and that applications may be filed regardless of the applicant’s priority date. The listing of a date for any category indicates that only applicants with a priority date that is earlier than the listed date may file their applications.
|
Employment- |
All Chargeability |
China – |
El Salvador, |
India |
Mexico |
Philippines |
|
1st |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
|
2nd |
C |
01APR19 |
C |
01DEC14 |
C |
C |
|
3rd |
C |
01APR18 |
C |
22JAN12 |
C |
C |
|
Other Workers |
C |
01AUG15 |
C |
22JAN12 |
C |
C |
|
4th |
C |
C |
15JUN17 |
C |
C |
C |
The USCIS is again using the Dates for Filing Cutoff Dates chart in May 2022, and, once again, all EB-1 priority date cutoffs remain Current (C). The EB-2 cutoff date for India has advanced by two months, to December 1, 2014. This means that India EB-2 applicants whose I-485 applications have not yet been filed and have a priority date before December 1, 2014, can file their I-485 applications with the USCIS.
In the Final Action chart, the China EB-2 cutoff date remains March 1, 2019, and the India EB-2 cutoff date advanced to September 1, 2013. The China EB-3 cutoff date remains March 22, 2018, and the India EB-3 cutoff date remains January 15, 2012. The Final Action priority date cutoff for China Other Workers is June 1, 2012.
If you have any questions or would like more information on the issues discussed in this alert, please contact any of the following Morgan Lewis lawyers:
Miami
Laura C. Garvin
Washington, DC
Eric S. Bord
Shannon A. Donnelly
Eleanor Pelta