The Department of State (DOS) has issued its November 2021 Visa Bulletin.  Unfortunately, the big news for the November 2021 Visa Bulletin is that priority dates for EB-3 India and China have retrogressed significantly. EB-2 categories continue to have modest forward movement, while family-based priority dates remain the same as last month.

As part of a greater public outreach effort, DOS will continue hosting discussions about the Visa Bulletin with the Chief of the Visa Control section, Charlie Oppenheim, on their YouTube Channel. The next Chats with Charlie is on October 26 at 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST to discuss the November Visa Bulletin.

Employment-based Movement

The EB-1 category remains open (“current” or “C” in DOS talk) worldwide, including for Indian and Chinese nationals.  The EB-2 and EB-3 categories also remain open for most nationals except for nationals of China and India. The priority dates for EB-2 have moved forward slightly for Indian and Chinese nationals, while EB-3 dates have retrogressed.

Here’s a chart for ease of reference:

Family-based Movement

All final action dates for family-based categories remain the same as the previous month.

By way of reminder, 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 2021, USCIS has confirmed the Dates for Filing 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.