In the March 2020 Visa Bulletin (VB), the EB-1 category remains retrogressed for all countries, and the EB-3 category is now retrogressed for all countries. In the EB-2 category, all countries apart from China and India have returned to being current. Both the regional center and non-regional center EB-5 categories have returned to being current for all countries except India, China and Vietnam, as the regional center program was extended through to September 30, 2020. Interestingly, China advanced by a few months in the EB-5 category this month, as opposed to only experiencing incremental movement.
This month’s VB highlights are as follows:
EB-1: All countries remain retrogressed. The final action date for all countries barely moved up from early December 2018 to early March 2019, and both China and India experienced only incremental movement. It remains to be seen whether the advancement previously anticipated in the next few months for most countries advances the final action dates to the point of being current. Unfortunately, China and India are only expected to experience little, if any, movement forward in the coming months.
EB-2: All countries remain current, with the exception of China (which experienced nominal movement) and India (which advanced a mere three days!). Unfortunately, a cut-off date is expected by the middle of the fiscal year for all countries, and again, China and India are only expected to experience little, if any, movement forward in the coming months.
EB-3: All countries are now retrogressed. While India and China experienced nominal movement forward, they remain retrogressed, whereas the Philippines have gone back 18 months from last month. Unfortunately, this matches the predicted cut-off date expected this month for all countries, and no forward movement is expected in the foreseeable future.
EB-5: China interestingly advanced a few months but India and China only advanced nominally, while all other countries remain current. In the coming months, corrective action is anticipated for China once large numbers of China-born applicants begin to have their cases processed, in which case China-born applicants are expected to return to experiencing only incremental movement (if any movement forward).
General Notes on Final Action Dates: The final action or cutoff date is effectively one’s place in line to immigrate based on the individual’s priority date. Individuals with priority dates earlier than the listed cut-off date on the VB are eligible to submit applications for adjustment of status (or consular visa applications) or if their applications are already pending may have their cases adjudicated. If one’s priority date is not “current”, neither agency may accept the case for processing nor adjudicate a pending case because the “visa is not available” if the final action dates is not “current.” The priority date is established a number of ways:
- PERM: The date on which the application is filed with the Department of Labor, provided that the PERM is approved and an I-140 is then filed and approved based on the PERM.
- EB1 & EB2 (NIW, Schedule A): The date on which the I-140 is filed with the USCIS, provided that the petition is approved.
- EB-5: The date on which the Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur is received by USCIS, provided that the petition is approved.
- Family-based immigration cases: The date on which the I-130 is filed with the USCIS, provided that the petition is approved.
Note that DOS looks at one’s country of birth in determining whether one is a national of a given country, not the country of citizenship. It is country of birth (principal alien or his/her spouse) that determines the country of chargeability to be “counted” against for purposes of permanent residency. Counting against the country of birth of one’s spouse is called “cross-chargeability.”
For general information on visa retrogression, please see our FAQ on this subject. For more information on the Visa Bulletin and country quota movements, including information about movement in the Family-Based Quotas, please see our DOS Visa Bulletin and Quota Movement page.
