July Visa Bulletin

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June 26, 2017

Following the Department of State’s release of the July 2017 Visa Bulletin, USCIS has informed prospective applicants of which priority-date chart should be referenced for applications submitted/processed in July:

Family-Based Applicants: Final Action Dates chart

Employment-Based Applicants: Final Action Dates chart

The relevant charts can be seen below.

Family-Based Applicants

Next month, family-based applicants should consult the Final Action Dates chart for July (see below).

Employment-Based Applicants

Employment-based applicants should also consult the Final Action chart for July (see below), which saw forward movement relative to the June chart in the many categories. However, EB-3 China retrogressed over 2.5 years to January 1, 2012.

Forward Guidance

The DOS provided helpful information about the anticipated future movement of priority date cutoffs for China EB-3 and India EB-4 and Religious Workers. The full text of the DOS’s guidance is below:

OVERSUBSCRIPTION OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CATEGORIES

CHINA Employment-based Third (E3) preference category: Readers were advised in item F of the June Visa Bulletin number 6, that it would be necessary to impose a date no later than August. The continued high level of demand for E3 numbers for USCIS adjustment of status applicants has required the establishment of a date for July. This has been done in an attempt to hold number use within the China E3 annual limit. The China E3 date will return to October 1, 2014 for October, the first month of fiscal year 2018.

INDIA Employment-based Fourth (E4) AND Certain Religious Workers (SR) preference categories: As readers were advised in the June Visa Bulletin number 6, there has been extremely high demand in the E4 and SR categories. Pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, it has been necessary to impose E4 and SR Final Action Dates for India, which has reached its per-country limit. This action will allow the Department to hold worldwide number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2017 annual limits.

The date for these preferences will once again become CURRENT for October, the first month of fiscal year 2018.

TAGS: Department of State, EB2, EB3, Employment-Based Immigration, Family-Based Immigration, USCIS, Visa Bulletin