Click here to view 2019 June Visa Bulletin

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) posted the Monthly Visa Bulletin for June 2019, reflecting slight forward progress in the  EB-1 preference category for all chargeability areas except China, which remains the same & India, which retrogressed substantially. EB-2 remains current for all countries except China and India. EB-3 & Other workers is also current except for India, China and the Philippines.

The EB-1 category retrogressed for India by 2 years, 1 month, 3 weeks, to January 1, 2015, in the June 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, with EB-1 India is anticipated to move forward significantly.

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

1. EB-1: China – No movement from February 22, 2017; India – Retrogression of two years, one month, three weeks to January 1, 2015; All Other Chargeability Areas – Forward progress of one month, three weeks, to April 22, 2018.
2. EB-2: China – Forward progress of two months, two weeks to August 1, 2016; India – Forward progress of three days to April 19, 2009.
3. EB-3: China – Forward progress of three weeks to September 15, 2015; India – Remains the same at July 1, 2009; Philippines – Forward progress of three months to June 1, 2018.
4. Other Workers: China – Forward progress of one week to September 1, 2007; India – No movement from July 1, 2009; Philippines – Forward progress of five months to November 1, 2018.
5. EB-5: China and Vietnam – Forward progress of one week to October 1, 2014.

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 June.  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 June 2019 should use the “Final Action Dates,” or priority dates, when filing during the month of June 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 visa petitions who may become eligible to file their adjustment of status applications in June should initiate preparation of these applications now with their Foster immigration attorney to plan for the earliest possible filing date in the month of June. Foster LLP will continue to monitor immigrant visa availability and provide updates via future Immigration Updates© and on our website at www.fosterglobal.com.