U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that in October it will follow the State Department’s Dates for Filing chart, as published in the October Visa Bulletin, to determine whether applicants are eligible to file for adjustment of status.

Dates for Filing for Employment-Based Preference Cases:

Preference All Other Countries China El Salvador Guatemala Honduras India Mexico Philippines
EB-1 Current Sept. 1, 2020 Current Sept. 1, 2020 Current Current
EB-2 Current Oct. 1, 2016 Current May 15, 2011 Current Current
EB-3 Current June 1, 2018 Current Jan. 1, 2015 Current Current

USCIS will also use Dates for Filing for family-based applicants, except for F2A category applicants, who may use Final Action Dates.

BAL Analysis: The use of Dates for Filing is good news for a number of employment-based immigrants, as the Dates for Filing chart contains more progressive cutoff dates than the Final Action Dates chart. Because Vietnam is not included on the Dates for Filing chart, adjustment of status applicants from Vietnam should use the dates listed under “all other countries.”

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.