United States: October 2021 Visa Bulletin - Most Employment-Based Cutoff Dates Unchanged; USCIS Will Accept Adjustment Applications Based on Dates for Filing; State Dept. Projects EB-3 Retrogression as Early as November

In October, USCIS will accept adjustment applications based on the Dates for Filing chart, which is the typical USCIS practice at the start of a new fiscal year. Because October 2021 marks the start of Fiscal Year 2022, it was expected that USCIS would accept employment-based adjustment of status applications with a priority date that is earlier than the Dates for Filing listed in the October Visa Bulletin, as it has done at the beginning of past fiscal years. For the last several months as we neared the end of FY 2021, USCIS chose to use the Final Action Dates chart.

Visa application backlogs coupled with reduced consular operations due to COVID-19 public health measures will continue to limit the issuance of immigrant visas by U.S. consulates abroad. Immigrant visa (IV) applicants who are no longer subject to the Trump-era immigrant ban may see their cases move forward, but should continue to expect delays as most consulates are still at reduced capacity as they try to work through backlogs. Those previously refused under the IV ban should await further instruction from the U.S. consulate that handled their application.

The EB-5 Regional Center program expired on June 30, 2021 and is therefore listed as “unavailable” in the October Visa Bulletin. Immigrant visa issuance and adjustment of status adjudications under this category ceased after the close of business on June 30. USCIS has provided guidance on its treatment of regional center-affiliated filings while legislation to reauthorize the Regional Center program are being negotiated in Congress. Advocacy efforts to support reauthorization are ongoing.

In the October Bulletin, the State Department provides projections for immigrant visa availability through January 2022. The Department predicts the following potential monthly cut-off date movements:

• EB-1: Remain current for all countries, including India and China.
• EB-2: Remain current for all countries except India and China. Advancement up to several months for India and China.
• EB-3: Retrogressed Final Action Dates could be imposed for India and China as early as November 2021. Worldwide Final Action date cutoffs could be established as early as November 2021. These projections are a reversal from recent EB-3 predictions communicated by the State Department indicating retrogressions were unlikely to be imposed prior to the summer of 2022.
• EB-5: Current for most countries, but no forward movement expected for China.

Actual immigrant visa movement may differ from State Department projections due to the fluid nature of immigrant visa processing and adjustment of status adjudication.

EB-1 
China: Current
India: Current
All other countries: Current                                                                            

EB-2  
China: September 1, 2018
India: July 8, 2012
All other countries: Current

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers  
China: January 15, 2019
India: January 8, 2014
All other countries: Current

EB-3 Other Workers  
China: May 1, 2010
India: January 8, 2014
All other countries: Current

EB-4
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras: May 15, 2019
Mexico: Current
All other countries: Current

EB-5
China: December 15, 2015
Vietnam: Current
All other countries: Current