Priority cutoff dates for India EB-2 and EB-3 preference categories will advance moderately, while cutoff dates for China EB-2 and EB-3 will not change from last month, according to the State Department’sSeptember Visa Bulletin.

The EB-1 cutoff date of Jan. 1, 2010 that was established last month for China and India will remain in place in September.

Key advancements:

  • India EB-2 will advance more than three months to Feb. 22, 2005.
  • India EB-3 will advance more than three months to Feb. 15, 2005.
  • Philippines EB-3 will advance by more than one year to July 1, 2010.
  • El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras, Mexico and the All Other Countries category will all advance by six weeks to May 1, 2016.

Aside from China and India, all other EB-1 categories will remain current. Other categories not mentioned above will remain unchanged from last month.

Additional notes: As September is the last month of the fiscal year, visa numbers are typically running low. New visa quotas will be available Oct. 1, and all EB-1 categories as well as EB-2 categories for all countries except China and India are expected to become current at that time.

Application Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases:

Preference China El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras		 India Mexico Philippines All Other Countries
EB-1 Jan 1, 2010 Current Jan 1, 2010 Current Current Current
EB-2 Jan 1, 2010 Feb. 1, 2014 Feb. 22, 2005 Feb. 1, 2014 Feb. 1, 2014 Feb. 1, 2014
EB-3 Jan 1, 2010 May 1,
2016		 Feb. 15, 2005 May 1, 2016 July 1,
2010		 May 1, 2016

The State Department also released its Dates for Filing chart for September 2016. Applicants seeking to file for adjustment of status are reminded that the Dates for Filing chart does not take effect unless USCIS confirms it via a web posting in the coming week. To date, USCIS has not allowed applicants to use the Dates for Filing chart for filing adjustment of status applications.

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

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