The Department of State (DOS) has issued its May 2020 Visa Bulletin. Overall, most employment categories will have modest forward movement, although the employment-based category 1 for most nationals is now current.  Employment-based category 3 continues to have no movement since the significant retrogression of 18 months in March. 

Employment-based category 1 (“EB-1) visas are now available for most nationals.  The priority date for EB-1 advances by just over a month for Chinese nationals and by three months for Indian nationals in the EB-1 category.

For the EB-2 category, immigrant visas are available for most nationals.  However, for Chinese nationals, there is a one-month advancement while for Indian nationals the priority date moves forward by just eight days.

Finally, for the EB-3 category, there continues to be no movement since the 18-month retrogression in March. However, for Chinese nationals, the priority date moves forward by one month and by five weeks for Indian nationals.  

 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 May 2020, USCIS has confirmed the Final Action Dates (above) chart should be used. 

 The entire visa bulletin is available on the State Department’s website, 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 on this topic.

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