The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the August 2021 Visa Bulletin. USCIS has determined and announced which chart an applicant must use to determine if he or she is eligible to submit their I-485, Adjustment of Status Application. If the priority date for your employment or family-based category is before the date listed below and you are in the United States, you may file your application to adjust status along with the applications for employment authorization and travel permission, assuming you meet all the other requirements, with USCIS in August.

Highlights of the Visa Bulletin

Employment-Based Applications: USCIS has determined applicants must use Final Action Dates Chart to determine if an individual is eligible to file adjustment of status.

1.     Employment-Based, First Preference (EB-1) Category: The EB-1 category remains Current for all countries of chargeability including India and China.

2.     Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB-2) Category: The EB-2 category for all countries of chargeability except India and Chain mainland continue to be Current. The cutoff date for EB-2 India remains the same as July 2021 visa bulletin as June 1, 2011. EB-2 China moves ahead from December 1, 2017, in July 2021 to April 1, 2018, in August 2021.

3.     Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB-3) Category: Similar to EB-2, the EB-3 preference category for all countries of chargeability continues to be Current, excluding India and Mainland China. The cutoff date for EB-3 India has moved from January 1, 2013, in June 2021, to July 1, 2013, in August 2021. This is a welcome advancement of six months. For China, the date has remained the same as July 2021 visa bulletin, the cutoff date continues to be 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 January 1, 2019, while for Mexico, it has remained February 1, 2020, without movement.

Family-Based Applications: USCIS announced F2A applicants may file using the Final Action Dates chart. Applicants in all other family-sponsored preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart.

Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State confirmed we should expect the September 2021 Final Action Dates for the E-3 category for India to be announced as January 1, 2014, in his monthly chat. This represents another six-month advancement from the August 2021 visa bulletin. Charlie emphasized looking at the Date of Filing chart that will be released for the September 2021 visa bulletin to help determine what we can potentially see in the October 2021 visa bulletin.

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.

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