U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) released the July 2021 Visa Bulletin. The bulletin notifies applicants if they are able to submit their I-485, Adjustment of Status Application in July. See the table below to see if you are eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application for your preference category and country. EB1 is current for all countries including India and China. EB2 and EB3 have updated dates.
Highlights of the Visa Bulletin
Employment-Based Applications: USCIS has again chosen the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based applications.
1. Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category: The EB-1 category remains current for all countries of chargeability including India and China.
2. Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2) Category: The cutoff date for EB2 India has advanced from December 1, 2010, to June 1, 2011. EB2 China moves ahead to December 1, 2017. The EB2 category remains current for all other countries of chargeability.
3. Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3) Category: The cutoff date for EB3 India has moved from November 1, 2011, in June 2021 to January 1, 2013. For China, the date has advanced to January 1, 2019.
4. Employment-Based, Certain Religious Workers Category: This category remains current for the majority of the countries including India and China. The cutoff date for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras has advanced to December 1, 2018. For Mexico, the date has advanced to February 1, 2020.
Family-Based Applications: USCIS has again chosen the Dates for Filing Chart for family-based applications. The exception is applicants who are filing under the F2A category. They must use the Final Action Dates chart. All dates are current for F2A for all countries of chargeability.
Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State will be holding his monthly “Chats with Charlie” on June 18, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. EST to discuss the July Visa Bulletin and prediction for the rest of the FY 2021. We will provide a prompt update after his Chat.
ILBSG will continue to monitor and report predictions and movements related to the monthly visa bulletin. If you have any questions regarding your priority date, please reach out to an ILBSG attorney today.
