The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released the November 2021 Visa Bulletin, which includes retrogressions for the EB-3 category for India and China, with slight advancement in the EB-2 category.

The retrogressions were not necessarily unexpected, in light of the recent surge of I-485 Adjustment of Status Application (AOS) approvals.  EB-3 Final Action Dates for India will retrogress almost 2 years to January 15, 2012, with the EB-3 Dates for Filing retrogressing to January 22, 2012.

The EB-3 Final Action Dates for China will retrogress about 9.5 months to March 22, 2018, with the EB-3 Dates for Filing retrogressing to April 1, 2018.

For EB-2, the Final Action Dates for India will advance by 3 months to December 1, 2011, with a Dates for Filing advancement of six months to January 8, 2013. For China, the Final Action Dates for EB-2 will advance by 4.5 months to November 15, 2019, with a Dates for Filing advancement of 5 months to February 1, 2019.

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.

If your priority date will allow you to file under the October Visa Bulletin but will retrogress next month under the November Visa Bulletin, please reach out to an ILBSG attorney today to ensure your case is filed before your priority date retrogresses.

Employment-Based Applications:

USCIS is allowing applicants to use the Dates for Filing Chart to file their adjustment of status application for an Employment-Based case in November 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 January 8, 2013. The cutoff date for Chinese nationals for EB-2 is February 1, 2019.
  • 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. In November, Indian and Chinese nationals will experience retrogressions. In November, Indian nationals may file their AOS under EB-3 if their priority date is before January 22, 2012, a retrogression from the January 8, 2014 date in the October Visa Bulletin. The cutoff date for Chinese nationals for EB-3 will retrogress from January 15, 2019 to April 1, 2018.
  • Employment-Based, Certain Religious Workers Category: This category remains current for all countries except for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The filing date for the nationals of those countries will remain the same, which is May 15, 2019.

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 October 26, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. EST to discuss the November Visa Bulletin and predictions 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.

November Visa Bulletin USCIS Visa Bulletin