Application Final Action Dates for nationals of the Philippines in the EB-3 category will advance three months to Aug. 8, 2008, according to the State Department’s May Visa Bulletin.

Other categories show little or no movement. India EB-2 will advance by two weeks to Nov. 22, 2008 and the India EB-3 category will advance by approximately three weeks to Sept. 1, 2004.

The cutoff dates for China EB-2 and EB-3 will not move, remaining at Sept. 1, 2012 and Aug. 15, 2013, respectively. All other EB-2 categories besides India and China will remain current. All EB-1 categories will remain current.

A new column for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras has been created due to oversubscription in the EB-4 and Certain Religions Workers categories for those countries. The priority dates in the other preference categories for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras will remain the same as the April Visa Bulletin.

Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases:

 Category China El Salvador Guatemala Honduras   India Mexico Philippines All Other Countries
EB-1 Current Current Current Current Current Current
EB-2 Sept. 1, 2012 Current Nov. 22, 2008 Current Current Current
EB-3 Aug. 15, 2013 Feb. 15, 2016 Sept. 1, 2004 Feb. 15, 2016 Aug. 8, 2008 Feb. 15, 2016
Other workers April 22, 2007 Feb. 15, 2016 Sept. 1, 2004 Feb. 15, 2016 Aug. 8, 2008 Feb. 15, 2016

The State Department also released its Dates for Filing chart for May 2016. Those with priority dates earlier than the dates listed for their category may be eligible to file for adjustment of status in May. Applicants seeking to file for adjustment of status are reminded that the Dates for Filing chart does not take effect unless U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirms via a web posting in the coming week.

Dates for Filing of Employment-Based Visa Applications:

Preference China India Mexico Philippines All Other Countries
EB-1 Current Current Current Current Current
EB-2 June 1, 2013 July 1, 2009 Current Current Current
EB-3 May 1, 2015 July 1, 2005 Current Jan. 1, 2010 Current
Other workers April 1, 2008 July 1, 2005 Current Jan. 1, 2010 Current

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

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