The situation
USCIS has determined that, next month, it will only accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that is current for final action under the State Department’s April Visa Bulletin.
As a reminder, the EB-4 Non-Minister Religious Worker and EB-5 Regional Center programs are set to expire on March 23, 2018 under a temporary federal spending measure passed on February 9, 2018. Unless Congress reauthorizes these programs or passes another temporary spending measure, immigrant visas in the two EB-4 and EB-5 subcategories will become unavailable later in March. The EB-5 non-Regional Center program will not be affected.
Employment-Based Priority Date Cut-offs for April 2018
To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in April, employer-sponsored foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country.
FINAL ACTION CUT-OFF DATES FOR APRIL 2018
EB-1 China: January 1, 2012 India: January 1, 2012 All other countries: Current
EB-2 China: August 1, 2014 India: December 22, 2008 All other countries: Current
EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers China: June 1, 2015 India: February 1, 2008 Philippines: January 1, 2017 All other countries: Current
EB-3 Other Workers China: April 1, 2007 India: February 1, 2008 Philippines: January 1, 2017 All other countries: Current
EB-4* El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras: December 15, 2015 Mexico: August 8, 2016 All other countries: Current * The EB-4 Non-Minister Religious Worker program may become unavailable for all countries after midnight on March 22 unless Congress reauthorizes it.
EB-5* China: July 22, 2014 Current for all other countries and subcategories * The Regional Center program may become unavailable for all countries after March 23 unless Congress reauthorizes it. The non-Regional Center program is unaffected.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.
Please sign in or register for FREE
If you are a registered user on The Forum for Expatriate Management, please sign in