May 2020 Visa Bulletin: EB-1 Current for All Countries Except China and India; Modest Advancement for Most Others; USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Categories

A closer look 

According to the State Department’s May Visa Bulletin, cutoff dates for issuance of an immigrant visa will be as follows: 

• EB-1: All countries except for China and India will become current on May 1. China will advance by five weeks to July 15, 2017, while India will advance by three months to August 1, 2015. 
• EB-2: China will advance by one month to October 1, 2015, and India will advance by one week to June 2, 2009. All other countries will remain current. 

• EB-3 Professional and Skilled Workers: All countries except India and China will remain at January 1, 2017. Cutoff dates for China and India will advance, with China moving ahead by one month to May 15 2016, and India moving ahead by more than five weeks to March 1, 2009. 
• EB-5: Most countries will remain current. China will advance by more than six weeks to July 1, 2015; India will advance by nine months to October 1, 2019; and Vietnam will advance by just under two months to April 1, 2017. 

Employment-Based Priority Date Cut-offs for May 2020

USCIS has announced that it will honor Final Action dates for adjustment of status filings in May. To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application next month, employer-sponsored foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country. This is the second consecutive month that USCIS has chosen the Final Action Dates chart, after several months of honoring the Dates for Filing chart.

The May Final Action Dates chart is current for EB-1 countries worldwide, after several months of retrogression.

Impact of Presidential Proclamation

This week’s Presidential proclamation temporarily suspending the entry of certain immigrants limits the issuance of immigrant visas by U.S. Consulates abroad for the next 60 days. However, the practical impact of the order is likely to be very limited, as most routine immigrant visa services have been suspended at U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad since mid-March as part of the State Department’s COVID-19 containment measures.

If the Presidential proclamation remains in place when full services resume, consular officers will refuse immigrant visa issuance to applicants who were outside the United States as of 11:59pm EDT on April 23, 2020, have not been issued an immigrant visa or similar U.S. travel document, and are not otherwise exempt. Applicants exempt from the proclamation include, but are not limited to:

• Foreign nationals seeking to enter on an immigrant visa as a physician, nurse or other healthcare professional, as well as their spouse and unmarried children under 21;
• Applicants for EB-5 immigrant visas;
• Spouses of U.S. citizens;
• Children under 21 of U.S. citizens and prospective adoptees in the IR-4 or IH-4 visa classifications;
• Foreign nationals whose entry would further important U.S. law enforcement objectives;
• Members of the U.S. armed forces and the spouses and children of such individuals;
• Foreign nationals seeking to enter as Special Immigrants in the SI or SQ classification, and the spouse and children of such individuals; and
• Foreign nationals whose entry is in the U.S. national interest.

Final Action cut-off dates for May 2020

EB-1 

China: July 15, 2017

India: August 1, 2015

All other countries: Current

EB-2  

China: October 1, 2015

India: June 2, 2009

All other countries: Current

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers  

China: May 15, 2016

India: March 1, 2009

All other countries: January 1, 2017

EB-3 Other Workers  

China: July 15, 2008

India: March 1, 2009

All other countries: January 1, 2017

EB-4 

El Salvador, Guatemala Honduras: August 15, 2016

Mexico: May 1, 2018

All other countries: Current

EB-5

China: July 1, 2015

India: October 1, 2019

Vietnam: April 1, 2017

All other countries: Current 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.