The Department of State (DOS) has issued its April 2022 Visa Bulletin.  The most important takeaways for April are that priority dates have stayed the same for EB-3 India and China and EB-2 China while EB-2 India moved forward by two months. However, the EB-2 priority date for filing has jumped forward an entire year for Indian nationals to September 1, 2014. 

Family-based priority dates remain largely the same across all categories except for: Mexico, which moved forward by four months in  the F-1 category and F-2B category, and by eight months and ten days in the F-4 category. However, as the chart further below shows, there was movement in priority dates across most categories for filing purposes. 

According to USCIS, there are a large number of employment-based green cards available for EB-1 and EB-2 this fiscal year, which runs from October 2021 to September 2022.  The agency therefore is recommending foreign nationals with pending green card applications (Form I-485) under EB-3 apply to “transfer” to EB-1 or EB-2 if they qualify. They can retain their original priority date for EB-2 and EB-1 processing. Please note that this is a strategic decision requiring analysis of specific circumstances.  The USCIS announcement can be found here. 

The DOS has not scheduled a discussion about the April Visa Bulletin on their YouTube Channel. 

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 date for EB-2 has moved forward for Indian nationals by two months, while EB-2 China and EB-3 dates for India and China have remained the same.

Here’s a chart for ease of reference:

Family-based Movement

Final action dates for all categories remain the same as last 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 April 2022, 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 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.