The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the October 2021 Visa Bulletin, the first visa bulletin in the fiscal year 2022. USCIS announced applicants must use the Date of Filing Chart to determine if they are eligible to submit their I-485, Adjustment of Status Application (AOS). If the priority date for your employment or family-based category is before the date listed below by category and you are in the United States, you may file your application to adjust your status. Individuals must also include their applications for employment authorization and travel permission, assuming all other requirements are met.

Employment-Based Applications:

As predicted, USCIS is allowing applicants to use the Date of Filing Chart to file their adjustment of status application for an Employment-Based case in October 2021.

  • Employment-Based, First Preference (EB-1) Category: The EB-1 category remains current for all countries of chargeability including India and China.
  • Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB-2) Category: The EB-2 category for all countries of chargeability except India and China mainland continue to be Current. Indian nationals may file their AOS if their priority date is before July 9, 2012. The cutoff date for Chinese nationals for EB-2 is September 1, 2018.
  • Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB-3) Category: Like EB-2, the EB-3 preference category for all countries of chargeability continues to be “Current” excluding India and Mainland China. As we reported last month and according to Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State, the odds of movement in EB-3 for Indian and Chinese nationals is slim. Although USCIS is allowing applicants to use the Date of Filing Chart, the cutoff date from September 2021 to October 2021 is a seven-day difference. Indian nationals may file their AOS under EB-3 if their priority date is before January 8, 2014. The cutoff date for Chinese nationals for EB-3 is January 15, 2019, which is a seven-day movement from last month.
  • Employment-Based, Certain Religious Workers Category: This category remains current for countries except for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The date for the nationals of those countries has advanced to May 15, 2019.

The slow movement in the Employment-Based visa bulletin is not surprising since USCIS hasn’t adjudicated the numerous applications it received in October 2020. This ensures USCIS has the time and resources to adjudicate cases already in its possession before accepting more.

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 will be holding his monthly “Chats with Charlie” on September 15, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. EST to discuss the October Visa Bulletin and prediction for the rest of 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 or any immigration-related issue, please reach out to an ILBSG attorney today. We work with you to ensure you get the right advice.

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