Major changes in the August 2016 Visa Bulletin

As of August 1, 2016, foreign nationals from India and China filing in the EB-1 category will be temporarily unable to submit their I-485 Adjustment of Status applications concurrently with their I-140 employment-based immigrant visa applications. According to the U.S. Department of State's ("DOS") August 2016 Visa Bulletin, Indian and Chinese nationals with priority dates of January 1, 2010 and earlier will be eligible to submit their green card applications and those with later priority dates will have to wait until immigrant visas become available in the coming months. The EB-1 category remained current for nationals of all countries except India and China. Charles Oppenheimer, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division with DOS, stated this cut-off date for China and India is expected to end on October 1, 2016 and adjudications can then resume on all EB-1 applications for permanent residence.

The August 2016 Visa Bulletin also has a worldwide cut-off date of February 1, 2014 for EB-2 beneficiaries. EB-2 beneficiaries include those with approved Labor Certifications from the Department of Labor for those with advanced degrees or equivalent and applicants applying in the National Interest Waiver category. This worldwide cut-off is also expected to end on October 1, 2016 making these petitions current and processing of permanent residence applications available for all countries other than China and India. According to Mr. Oppenheimer, significant movement will also be made in October for all countries in the EB-3 preference category.  Together, these changes will allow many thousands of EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 workers to apply for Adjustment of Status or seek consular processing of their immigrant visa applications this fall. If you have questions about the visa bulletin or eligibility for filing for adjustment of status, please contact the attorneys at Iandoli Desai & Cronin at info@iandoli.com.