June 2017 Visa Bulletin – EB-1 China and EB-1 India Cutoff Date Introduced

The U.S. State Department has just released the June 2017 Visa Bulletin which is the ninth Visa Bulletin for the FY2017 fiscal year.  The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is introduction of a cutoff date for EB-1 India and EB-1 China.   Because this cutoff date may remain in effect for the next several months, we call on all EB-1 India and EB-1 China applicants who are eligible but have not filed I-485s to do so before the end of May 2017.

Summary of the June 2017 Visa Bulletin – Employment-Based (EB)

Please note that USCIS will determine, about a week after this Visa Bulletin is published, whether or not to accept I-485 filings on the basis of these filing dates. Please see the section below.

Summary of the June 2017 Visa Bulletin – Family-Based (FB)

Please note that USCIS will determine, about a week after this Visa Bulletin is published, whether or not to accept I-485 filings on the basis of these filing dates. Please see the section below.

EB-3 China Ahead of EB-2/EB-1 China – End of Downgrading on the Horizon

Clients and readers who are interested in EB China will note that EB-3 China continues to have a more favorable cutoff date than EB-2 China (and not EB-1 China as well) by a number of months (EB-3 China is at October 1, 2014 while EB-2 China is March 1, 2013 and EB-1 China is at January 1, 2012).

However, the Department of State is reporting that large demand in EB-3 China has caused the numbers for this category to increase significantly and it is expected that there will be a retrogression in EB-3 China in the July or August 2017 Visa Bulletin.

While there may be many individuals who can still benefit from the EB-3 China downgrade, the fact that there is significant demand and the anticipated EB-3 China retrogression means that the EB-3 China downgrade option may not be so attractive any longer.

Our office is happy to consult applicants who are in this situation and are considering filing under EB-3 to take advantage of the more advanced EB-3 China cutoff dates.   Please contact us if we can help.

Introduction of EB-1 India/China Cutoff Date

As we warned last month in our May 2017 Visa Bulletin alert,  the Department of State is introducing a cutoff date for the EB-1 India and EB-1 China – of January 1, 2012.     It is expected that this cutoff date will remain in place until October 1, 2017 so we are alerting all EB-1 India and EB-1 China applicants who have not filed I-485 (but are eligible to do so) to consider doing so during the month of May 2017 and before the June 2017 Visa Bulletin becomes effective on June 1, 2017.

Upcoming Introduction of EB-2 ROW/Mexico/Philippines Cutoff Date

The Department of State is warning that they are also likely to introduce a cutoff date for the EB-2 ROW, Mexico and Philippines categories (which have almost always been current) over the following few months.   It is likely that a cutoff date will be introduced for EB-2 ROW/Mexico/Philippines before July 2017.

Once such cutoff date is introduced, applicants who are affected will not be able to complete their green card process either at the US Consulate or by filing or getting an approval of I-485 adjustment of status application until their priority date becomes current again.   It is expected that these categories will be current again after October 1, 2017.   Applicants who may be affected by this cutoff date introduction should consider monitoring closely the upcoming Visa Bulletins for the  next few months and be ready to move forward with a prompt I-485 filing or wait until October 1 when it is anticipated that the dates will be current again.

Current Date?

Our office stands ready to assist in the applicable process to take advantage of the significant restructuring in the way the cutoff dates are determined and published.  There are many applicants across many of the employment and family categories who can now process their (and their family members’) I-485 Adjustment of Status applications from within the U.S. or process their immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if our office can help you take advantage of this (very time-sensitive for some) opportunity to file I-485 applications. We are also happy to provide a free quote for preparing and filing your I-485 application.

Further Updates and News

We invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics. We also invite you to contact us if our office can be of any assistance in your immigration matters or you have any questions or comments about the June 2017 Visa Bulletin. Finally, if you already haven’t, please consider our Visa Bulletin Predictions tool which provides personalized predictions and charts helping you understand when a particular priority date may become current and what are the movement patterns.