April Visa Bulletin: Retrogression for India and all other countries for EB-2, moderate advancement for China EB-3, Final Action Dates to control employment-based eligibility

The State Department released the April Visa Bulletin, showing retrogression for India EB-2 and “all other countries” EB-2, as well as moderate advancement for China EB-3. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it would use the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based filings.

Final Action Dates: Key Movements

EB-1

• China EB-1 will remain at Feb. 1, 2022.
• India EB-1 will remain at Feb. 1, 2022.
• All other countries under EB-1 will remain current.

EB-2

• China EB-2 will remain at June 8, 2019.
• India EB-2 will retrogress eight months to Jan. 1, 2011.
• All other countries under EB-2 will retrogress four months to July 1, 2022.

EB-3

• China EB-3 will advance three months to Nov. 1, 2018.
• India EB-3 will remain at June 15, 2012.
• All other countries under EB-3 will remain current.

Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases:

Additional Information: Family-based applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart next month, according to the USCIS announcement. More information is available here.

The State Department also announced that it listed final action and application filing dates for EB-4 visa applicants from El, Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in the “All Chargeability Areas Except Listed” column, resulting in a EB-4 retrogression as of April 1, 2023, under final action dates. More information regarding this change is available in this Federal Register notice.

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

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