September Visa Bulletin Update: USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates Next Month

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At a glance

In September, USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that is earlier than the Final Action dates listed in the State Department's September Visa Bulletin. 

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Employment-Based Priority Date Cut-offs for September 2019

To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in September, employer-sponsored foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country. 

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has chosen to honor the Department of State Final Action Dates chart, rather than the Dates for Filing chart, in September. In the September Visa Bulletin, the State Department also confirmed that EB-1 India has been unavailable since early July and announced that September cutoff dates will take effect immediately for EB-1 China and EB-3 China and India. Though it is not yet known whether USCIS will apply the EB-1 and EB-3 retrogressions immediately, or if it will continue to accept applications that are current on the August Visa Bulletin for the remainder of this month, when mid-month retrogressions have occurred in the past, the agency has accepted applications and held them until priority dates became current again.

FINAL ACTION CUT-OFF DATES FOR SEPTEMBER 2019 
* An asterisk (*) indicates immediate unavailability

EB-1 
India: Unavailable*
China: January 1, 2014*
All other countries: October 1, 2017

EB-2  
China: January 1, 2017 
India: May 8, 2009 
All other countries: January 1, 2018 

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers  
China: January 1, 2014*
India: July 1, 2005*
All other countries: July 1, 2016

EB-3 Other Workers  
China: November 22, 2007* 
India: July 1, 2005*
All other countries: July 1, 2016 

EB-4 
All other countries: Unavailable*

EB-5 
China: October 22, 2014 
Vietnam: October 22, 2014 
India: September 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.