USCIS to Accept October 2018 Visa Bulletin “Filing Dates” – I-485 Filing Opportunity for India and China
In a somewhat surprising move, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) have announced that for October 2018 they will accept the “Filing Dates” for employment-based I-485 applications. This means that a number of EB-3 and EB-2 India and China applicants will be able to submit an I-485 adjustment of status even if their date is not current under the “Final Action” section of the Visa Bulletin if it is earlier than the “Filing” cutoff date for October 2018.
EB Filing Date Accepted for I-485 Filings in October 2018
USCIS will accept I-485 filings for candidates with a priority date earlier than shown below:
| EB Category | Oct 2018 | Sep 2018 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dates for Filing Employment Visa Applications (determines when an I-485 can be filed) | |||
| EB-1 ROW, MX, PH | Jun 1, 2018 | Current | Cutoff date introduced |
| EB-1 India/China | Oct 1, 2017 | Current | Cutoff date introduced |
| EB-2 ROW, MX, PH | Current | Current | No change |
| EB-2 India | May 22, 2009 | May 22, 2009 | No change |
| EB-2 China | Jun 15, 2015 | Apr 1, 2015 | Forward by 2.5 months |
| EB-3 ROW | Current | Current | No change |
| EB-3 India | Oct 1, 2009 | May 1, 2009 | Forward by 5 months |
| EB-3 China | Aug 8, 2015 | Jan 1, 2016 | Back by 4 months |
| EB-3 Mexico | Current | Current | No change |
| EB-3 Philippines | Jul 1, 2017 | Jul 1, 2017 | No change |
Since the introduction of the “Final Action” and “Filing Date” sections of the Visa Bulletin, USCIS has almost always used the “Final Action” date for I-485 filings. This month, for October 2018, USCIS has made an exception. Please review the entire October 2018 Visa Bulletin acceptance date announcement by USCIS. Also, please see our earlier analysis of the October 2018 Visa Bulletin.
Current Date?
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 October 2018 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.
About the Author: Dimo Michailov
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The Capitol Immigration Law Group has been serving the business community for over 15 years and is one of the most widely respected immigration law firms focused solely on U.S. employment-based immigration. Disclaimer: we make all efforts to provide timely and accurate information; however, the information in this article may become outdated or may not be applicable to a specific set of facts. It is not to be construed as legal advice.