April Visa Bulletin: Significant advancement for China and Philippines EB-3, modest advancement in other categories

Priority cutoff dates for China EB-3 and Philippines EB-3 will advance significantly next month, according to the State Department’s April Visa Bulletin. India EB-2, China EB-2 and most EB-3 categories will advance more modestly.

Key movements in priority cutoff dates:

• China EB-3 will advance by five months to Aug. 15, 2014, while China EB-2 will advance by one month to Jan. 15, 2013.
• India EB-3 will advance two days to March 24, 2005, while India EB-2 will advance by three weeks to June 22, 2008.
• The Philippines EB-3 category will advance by six months to Sept. 15, 2012.
• EB-3 categories for Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and All Other Chargeability Areas will advance by 2 ½ months to Feb. 15, 2017.

Additional notes: All EB-1 categories will remain current. All EB-2 categories other than India and China will also remain current.

Application Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases:

The State Department also released its Dates for Filing chart for April 2017. Applicants seeking to file for adjustment of status are reminded that the chart does not take effect unless USCIS confirms it via a web posting. BAL will update clients once officials confirm whether the chart can be used in April.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact BerryApplemanLeiden@bal.com.

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