Department of State Releases May 2016 Visa Bulletin - April 21, 2016
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Description
LAWFLASH
DEPARTMENT OF STATE RELEASES MAY
2016 VISA BULLETIN
April 21, 2016
AUTHORS AND CONTACTS
Eleanor Pelta, Eric S. Bord, A. James Vázquez-Azpiri, Lisa Stephanian Burton, Tracy Evlogidis
A new geographic sector that includes El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras has been added.
The US Department of State (DOS) has released its May 2016 Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin sets out
per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of adjustment of
status and consular immigrant visa application ï¬lings and approvals.
A new geographic sector encompassing El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras has been added to the employment-based (EB) charts. WHAT DOES THE MAY 2016 VISA BULLETIN SAY? The May 2016 Visa Bulletin includes both a Dates for Filing Visa Applications and Appl ication Final Action Dates chart. The former indicates when intending immigrants may ï¬le their applications for adjustment of status or immigrant visa, and the latter indicates when an adjustment of status application or immigrant visa application may be approved and permanent residence granted. If the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines that there are more immigrant visas available for a ï¬scal year than there are known applicants for such visas, it will state on its website that applicants may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart. Otherwise, applicants should use the Application Final Action Dates chart to determine when they may ï¬le their adjustment of status applications.
For May 2016, USCIS announced that EB applicants must use the Application Final Action Dates chart. APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES To be eligible to ï¬le an EB adjustment application in May 2016, foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country (changes from last month’s Visa Bulletin dates are shown in yellow): . EB All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed China El Salvador, India (mainland Guatemala, born) and Honduras Mexico Philippines 1st C C C C C C 2nd C 01SEP12 C 22NOV08 (was 08NOV08) C C 3rd 15FEB16 15AUG13 15FEB16 01SEP04 15FEB16 08AUG08 (was (was 08AUG04) 01May08) Other Workers 15FEB16 22APR07 (was 01MAR07) 15FEB16 01SEP04 15FEB16 08AUG08 (was (was 08AUG04) 01May08) 4th C C 01JAN10 C C C Certain Religious Workers C C 01JAN10 C C C 5th Nonregional Center (C5 and T5) C 08FEB14 (was 01FEB14) C C C C . 5th Regional Center (I5 and R5) C 08FEB14 (was 01FEB14) C C C C HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU Most countries saw a relatively minor advancement in priority cutoff dates, generally three weeks at most. The largest changes in the Application Final Action Dates chart are in the EB-3 and Other Workers Philippines category, which advanced by three and a half months to August 8, 2008. The Third Preference ï¬nal action date for EB-3 China has been “held” for the month of May, with no change in priority date cutoff. The DOS indicated that continued heavy demand for numbers will require a retrogression of this date for June to hold number use within the FY2016 annual limit. It is extremely likely that the India and Mexico Employment Fourth Preference categories will also become oversubscribed at some point during the summer months. The addition of the El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras category is a result of extremely high demand in the E4 and SR categories for applicants from these areas. A determination about whether these countries will remain subject to E4 and SR ï¬nal application dates under the FY2017 annual numerical limitation will be made in early September.
Read the entire May 2016 Visa Bulletin. CONTACTS For more information, or if you have any questions regarding the issues discussed in this Immigration Alert, please contact any of the following lawyers: Washington, DC Eleanor Pelta Eric S. Bord San Francisco A. James Vázquez-Azpiri B os t on Lisa Stephanian Burton London Tracy Evlogidis Copyright 2016 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | All rights reserved .
A new geographic sector encompassing El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras has been added to the employment-based (EB) charts. WHAT DOES THE MAY 2016 VISA BULLETIN SAY? The May 2016 Visa Bulletin includes both a Dates for Filing Visa Applications and Appl ication Final Action Dates chart. The former indicates when intending immigrants may ï¬le their applications for adjustment of status or immigrant visa, and the latter indicates when an adjustment of status application or immigrant visa application may be approved and permanent residence granted. If the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines that there are more immigrant visas available for a ï¬scal year than there are known applicants for such visas, it will state on its website that applicants may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart. Otherwise, applicants should use the Application Final Action Dates chart to determine when they may ï¬le their adjustment of status applications.
For May 2016, USCIS announced that EB applicants must use the Application Final Action Dates chart. APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES To be eligible to ï¬le an EB adjustment application in May 2016, foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country (changes from last month’s Visa Bulletin dates are shown in yellow): . EB All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed China El Salvador, India (mainland Guatemala, born) and Honduras Mexico Philippines 1st C C C C C C 2nd C 01SEP12 C 22NOV08 (was 08NOV08) C C 3rd 15FEB16 15AUG13 15FEB16 01SEP04 15FEB16 08AUG08 (was (was 08AUG04) 01May08) Other Workers 15FEB16 22APR07 (was 01MAR07) 15FEB16 01SEP04 15FEB16 08AUG08 (was (was 08AUG04) 01May08) 4th C C 01JAN10 C C C Certain Religious Workers C C 01JAN10 C C C 5th Nonregional Center (C5 and T5) C 08FEB14 (was 01FEB14) C C C C . 5th Regional Center (I5 and R5) C 08FEB14 (was 01FEB14) C C C C HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU Most countries saw a relatively minor advancement in priority cutoff dates, generally three weeks at most. The largest changes in the Application Final Action Dates chart are in the EB-3 and Other Workers Philippines category, which advanced by three and a half months to August 8, 2008. The Third Preference ï¬nal action date for EB-3 China has been “held” for the month of May, with no change in priority date cutoff. The DOS indicated that continued heavy demand for numbers will require a retrogression of this date for June to hold number use within the FY2016 annual limit. It is extremely likely that the India and Mexico Employment Fourth Preference categories will also become oversubscribed at some point during the summer months. The addition of the El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras category is a result of extremely high demand in the E4 and SR categories for applicants from these areas. A determination about whether these countries will remain subject to E4 and SR ï¬nal application dates under the FY2017 annual numerical limitation will be made in early September.
Read the entire May 2016 Visa Bulletin. CONTACTS For more information, or if you have any questions regarding the issues discussed in this Immigration Alert, please contact any of the following lawyers: Washington, DC Eleanor Pelta Eric S. Bord San Francisco A. James Vázquez-Azpiri B os t on Lisa Stephanian Burton London Tracy Evlogidis Copyright 2016 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | All rights reserved .
