The Department of State (DOS) has issued its April 2021 Visa Bulletin. Both employment-based and family-based priority dates are detailed below. 

Employment-based movement 

The major development for April is that the EB-1 category finally will be open for Indian and Chinese nationals.  Otherwise, all three employment-based categories remain open except for nationals of China and India.  EB-2 and EB-3 for Indian and Chinese nationals continue to have meaningful forward movement. 

For the EB-1 category, immigrant visas  are now available for all nationals, including Chinese and Indian nationals.

For the EB-2 category, immigrant visas also continue to be available for most nationals.  The priority date for EB-2 advances by six weeks for Chinese nationals and three and a half months for Indian nationals.

Finally, for the EB-3 category, the priority date also remains available for most nationals. The priority date for Chinese nationals advances by five weeks and for Indian nationals by two months.

 Here’s a chart for ease of reference:

Family-based Movement: 

Overall, most family-based categories will have slight forward movement.

For the F-1 category, the priority date moves forward by sixteen days for most nationals. The priority date for Mexican nationals and nationals of the Philippines advances by two weeks.

For the F2-A category, immigrant visas continue to be available for all nationals.

For the F2-B category, the priority date advances by seventeen days for most nationals. The priority date for Mexican nationals advances by one week and advances by seventeen days for nationals of the Philippines

For the F-3 category, there will be a one week advancement for most nationals.  The priority date moves forward by sixteen days for Mexican nationals and 24 days for nationals of the Philippines.

Finally, for the F-4 category, there will be a ten day advancement for most nationals. The priority date moves forward seventeen days for nationals of India and one week for nationals of Mexico. There is a five week advancement for nationals of the Philippines.

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 April 2021, USCIS has confirmed the Final Action dates (above) 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 April. 

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.