The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released the September 2021 Visa Bulletin, the last visa bulletin in this fiscal year. USCIS has determined and announced which chart an applicant must use to determine if he or she is eligible to submit his/her 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.

Highlights of the Visa Bulletin

Employment-Based Applications

USCIS determined applicants must use the 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 progressed from June 2011 in the August visa bulletin to September 1, 2011, for the September visa. This is an advancement of three months.  EB-2 China moves ahead from April 1, 2018, in August 2021 to, December 1, 2018, in September 2021.
  3. Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB-3) Category: Similar to EB-2, for the EB-3 preference category all countries of chargeability continue to be “Current” excluding India and Mainland China. The cutoff date for EB-3 India has moved from July 1, 2013, in August 2021, to January 1, 2014. As predicted, we continue a bigger advancement for India in the EB-3 category compared to EB-2. For China, the date has remained the same as the August 2021 visa bulletin, the cutoff date continues to be January 8, 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 March 15, 2019, while for Mexico, it has advanced to March 1, 2020.

Family-Based Applications

USCIS announced that 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 will be holding his monthly “Chats with Charlie” on August 19, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. EST to discuss the September Visa Bulletin and prediction for the fiscal year 2022. We will provide a prompt update after his Chat.

ILBSG continues 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. We work with you to ensure you get the right advice for your specific situation.

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