October 2019 Visa Bulletin: Use Dates for Filing Chart

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the October 2019 Visa Bulletin, which is the first visa bulletin of fiscal year 2020. Further, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the more favorable dates for filing (DF) chart may be used as a basis for filing an application to adjust status (form I-485). Therefore, the dates for both the final action (FA) chart and the DF chart are provided below.

For more information on the differences between the FA chart and the DF chart, see the MurthyDotCom NewsBrief  Priority Dates: How Does the Visa Bulletin Work? (25.Mar.2019).

Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category

On the FA chart, EB1 India is set at January 01, 2015 in the October 2019 Visa Bulletin. The cutoff date for EB1 China moves forward to November 01, 2016. For all other countries of chargeability, the cutoff date moves forward to April 22, 2018 on the FA chart.

On the DF chart, EB1 India is set at March 15, 2017. EB1 China has a September 1, 2017 cutoff date on the DF chart. The cutoff date for all other countries of chargeability is July 1, 2019 on the DF chart.

Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2) Category

On the FA chart, EB2 India moves very slightly forward to May 12, 2009. EB2 China, meanwhile, retrogresses to January 01, 2015. The EB2 cutoff date for all other countries of chargeability is current on both the FA and DF charts.

EB2 India on the DF chart has a July 1, 2009 cutoff date. EB2 China has an August 1, 2016 cutoff date on the DF chart.

Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3) Category

On the FA chart, EB3 India moves forward to January 01, 2009, and EB3 China moves ahead to November 01, 2015. All other countries of chargeability are current in the EB3 category, on both the FA and DF charts.

EB3 India on the DF chart has a February 1, 2010 cutoff date. For EB3 China, the DF cutoff date is March 1, 2017.

EB3 Other Workers

With the exception of China, the cutoff dates for EB3 other workers are the same for each country as their respective EB3 cutoff date. For China, the cutoff date for EB3 other workers on the FA chart moves forward to January 01, 2008. On the DF chart, EB3 other workers for China has an August 1, 2008 cutoff date.

Employment-Based, Fourth Preference (EB4) Category

Not including certain religious workers, the EB4 category for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras is set at July 1, 2016 on the FA chart. On the DF chart, the cutoff date for those countries is August 15, 2016. For Mexico, the FA cutoff date advances to May 01, 2017. On the DF chart, Mexico is current.

The EB4 category is current for all other countries of chargeability on both the FA and DF charts.

Employment-Based, Fifth Preference (EB5) Category

For non-regional center filings, the EB5 category on the FA chart remains current for all countries of chargeability, with the exception of China, India, and Vietnam. On the FA chart, EB5 China remains at October 22, 2014. EB5 India moves forward to November 22, 2017, and EB5 Vietnam moves forward to October 15, 2016 on the FA chart.

On the DF chart, EB5 is current for all countries except China. EB5 China on the DF chart has a cutoff date of January 1, 2015.

EB4 Certain Religious Workers and EB5 Regional Center Temporarily Listed as “Unavailable”

On the FA chart, EB4 for certain religious workers and the EB5 category for regional center cases are listed as unavailable. This is because both categories are scheduled to expire on midnight of September 30, 2019. Both programs are routinely extended each time a government-funding bill is passed. The expectation is that these programs will be extended before the September 30 deadline. Assuming they are extended, the cutoff dates in the October 2019 Visa Bulletin for certain religious workers will match those of the standard EB4 category. Similarly, upon an extension of the program, the cutoff date for EB5 regional center cases will match those of non-regional center cases.

On the DF chart, the cutoff dates for the certain religious workers category match those of the standard EB4 category. Additionally, the cutoff dates for EB5 regional center cases on the DF chart match those of non-regional center cases.

Conclusion

MurthyDotCom will continue to closely monitor and report on movement and predictions related to the monthly visa bulletin. Subscribe to the MurthyBulletin to receive future updates.

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