December 2019 Visa Bulletin Released

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its December 2019 Visa Bulletin. Overall, most employment categories had little forward movement.  Employment-based category 1 (“EB-1) for most nationals advances by 44 days while for Chinese nationals it moves forward by 103 days. There is no change for Indian nationals in the EB-1 category. 

For the EB-2 category, immigrant visas are available for most nationals.  However, for Chinese nationals, the priority date advances by 99 days while for Indian nationals the priority date moves forward by only two days. Lastly, for the EB-3 category, immigrant visa are available  for most nationals. However, for Chinese and Indian nationals, the priority date does not move at all, and the priority date for Philippine nationals in EB-3 advances by one month.

Here’s a chart for ease of reference:

WHAT DATES IN THE VISA BULLETIN SHOULD YOU USE FOR FILING YOUR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATION WITH USCIS?

If USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for a fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, then USCIS will state here that you may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin, which usually has dates earlier than the Final Action Dates noted above. Otherwise, USCIS will indicate on its website that you must use the Application Final Action Dates chart (above) to determine when you may file your adjustment of status application in the United States. 

For December 2019, USCIS has not yet announced which  dates to use. It makes this announcement here.

The entire visa bulletin can be found here, which includes priority dates for family-based categories and the diversity visa lottery. 

If you would like more information on how to understand the monthly visa bulletin, please check out our blog post here.