The Department of State (DOS) has issued its November 2020 Visa Bulletin.  We now cover both employment-based and family-based priority dates as detailed below. 

Employment-based movement:  

Overall, most employment categories will have modest forward movement as compared to last month, with a bit more of a forward movement under the EB-1 category.

For the EB-1 category, immigrant visas  continue to be available for most nationals.  The priority date for EB-1 advances by six months for both Chinese and Indian nationals.

For the EB-2 category, immigrant visas also continue to be available for most nationals.  The priority date for Chinese nationals advances by seven weeks and for Indian nationals by three weeks from last month.

Finally, for the EB-3 category, the priority date also remains available for most nationals. The priority date for Chinese nationals advancing by three months and for Indian nationals by six weeks. 

 Here’s a chart for ease of reference:

Family-based Movement: Overall, all family-based categories had no movement.

The categories are:

• F-1 category:  unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

• F2-A category: spouses and children under 21 of lawful permanent residents

• F2-B category: unmarried adult children (over 21) of lawful permanent residents

• F-3 category:  married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

• F-4 category:  siblings of U.S. citizens

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 November 2020, USCIS has confirmed the Dates for Filing (below) chart should be used for all employment-based categories.

For family-based categories, USCIS has announced that F2A applicants may file using the Final Action Dates chart (above). Applicants in all other family-sponsored preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart provided below. 

If the priority date for your employment or family-based category is before the date listed above and you are in the United States, you may file your application to adjust status along with the applications for employment authorization and travel permission (assuming you have no bars to admissibility) with USCIS in November. 

The entire visa bulletin is available on the State Department’s website, which includes the diversity visa lottery. 

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

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