Click here to view the 2019 July Visa Bulletin

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) published the Monthly Visa Bulletin for July 2019, showing no movement in the  EB-1 preference category, except for China which did progress. EB-2 remains current for all countries except China and India. EB-3 & Other Workers are also current except for India and China, with the Philippines moving to current from being backlogged for both EB-3 and Other Workers.

In the June Visa Bulletin, the EB-1 category retrogressed for India to January 1, 2015 and, as anticipated, shows no movement in the July Visa Bulletin. This is attributed to an increased number of petitions and applications filed under the EB-1 category. These EB-1 filings are due to significant backlogs for India-born applicants under the EB-2 and EB-3 categories. This retrogression is anticipated to be temporary but should last until the beginning of the next fiscal year on October 1, 2019, when EB-1 India is anticipated to move forward to February 22, 2017. In this July Visa Bulletin, the EB-5 preference category has similarly retrogressed for India to May 1, 2017, with the anticipation that the category will move forward significantly on October 1, 2019.

The specific changes in the “Final Action Dates,” or priority dates from June 2019 to July 2019, are:

1.  EB-1: China – Forward progress of two months, two weeks to May 8, 2017.
2.  EB-2: China – Forward progress of three months to November 1, 2016; India – Forward progress of five days to April 24, 2009.
3. EB-3: China – Forward progress of three months two weeks to January 1, 2016; Philippines – Forward progress of eight months to current. 
4. Other Workers: China – Forward progress of two months three weeks to November 22, 2007; Philippines – Forward progress of eight months to current.
5. EB-5: India – Retrogression to May 1, 2017; Vietnam – Forward progress of two years to October 1, 2016. 

Applicants whose priority dates are currently backlogged should review the dates below to assess whether they may be eligible to file their adjustment of status application during the month of July.  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed on its website that beneficiaries of approved employment-based immigrant petitions whose priority dates become current in July 2019 should use the “Final Action Dates,” or priority dates, when filing during the month of July 2019.  In the recent past during certain months, USCIS had accepted employment-based immigrant visa applications filed based on the “Dates for Filing” dates, which were typically earlier or sooner than the priority dates.

Beneficiaries of approved employment-based immigrant petitions who may become eligible to file adjustment of status applications in July should begin preparation of these applications now with their Foster immigration attorney to plan for the earliest possible filing date in the month of July. Foster LLP will continue to track immigrant visa availability and provide updates via future Immigration Updates© and on our website at www.fosterglobal.com.