The Department of State (DOS) has issued its April 2019 Visa Bulletin. Overall, there was very little movement in most categories this month.  EB-1 for most nationals advanced by one month while there was no movement for Chinese and Indian nationals.  For the EB-2 category, Chinese nationals advanced by three months while Indian nationals advanced by only three days. Lastly, EB-3 for Chinese nationals moved forward by twenty-four days, while Indian nationals advanced by one month, and Philippine nationals advanced by three months.

 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 on www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo 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 web site that you must use the Application Final Action Dates chart (which is above) to determine when you may file your adjustment of status application in the United States. For April 2019, USCIS has announced that the Application Final Action Dates must be used for employment-based filings. 

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

This alert is for informational purposes.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss these developments further.