November 2019 Visa Bulletin: Gradual Advancements in Final Action Dates

The November 2019 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). In November, there is some advancement in the oversubscribed employment-based (EB) categories for China. Unfortunately, India receives nearly no relief.

Visa Bulletin Summary

All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in the final action (FA) chart, unless otherwise specified.

Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category

Cutoff dates for all countries of chargeability, except India and China, have advanced from April 22, 2018, to June 1, 2018. For India, the cutoff date remains at January 1, 2015. For China, the final action date advances from November 1, 2016, to February 1, 2017.

Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2) Category

The EB2 category is current for all countries of chargeability except India and China. EB2 China moves forward from January 1, 2015, to March 15, 2015. EB2 India inches forward from May 12, 2009, to May 13, 2009.

Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3) Category

China and India have stalled at cutoff dates of November 1, 2015, and January 1, 2009, respectively. Most notably, the Philippines has advanced from October 15, 2017, to February 1, 2018. All other cutoff dates are current in the EB3 category.

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 dates. For China, the cutoff date for EB3 other workers is February 1, 2008.

Employment-Based, Fourth Preference (EB4) Category

The EB4 category has seen little change. China, India, the Philippines, and Vietnam remain current, while El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras maintain a cutoff date of July 1, 2016. Mexico’s cutoff date has advanced from May 1, 2017, to July 22, 2017.

Employment-Based, Fifth Preference (EB5) Category

The EB5 category remains current for all countries of chargeability except China, India, and Vietnam. For China, the cutoff date advances to November 1, 2014. EB5 India moves ahead by a couple of weeks, to December 8, 2017. For Vietnam, the EB5 cutoff date moves up to November 15, 2016.

EB4 Certain Religious Workers and EB5 Regional Center Could be Made “Unavailable”

The EB4 category for certain religious workers and the EB5 category for regional center filings are scheduled to expire on November 21, 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 November 21 deadline. If, however, Congress and the President fail to extend them before that date, they will become unavailable on the FA chart for all countries of chargeability effective November 21, 2019.

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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