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Find the archived Visa Bulletin for December 2021 or check out the most recent Visa Bulletin.
If you don’t know what a “visa bulletin” or a “priority date” is, we’ve got you covered. Start by checking out the Boundless guide on How to Read the Visa Bulletin.
If you’re already familiar with those terms, scroll down to our summary of key developments or to the filing category that’s most relevant to you:
- F-1: Unmarried Children (Age 21 and Older) of U.S. Citizens
- F-2A: Spouses and Unmarried Children (Under Age 21) of U.S. Green Card Holders
- F-2B: Unmarried Children (Age 21 or Older) of U.S. Green Card Holders
- F-3: Married Children of U.S. Citizens
- F-4: Siblings of U.S. Citizens
- EB-1: Extraordinary People, Outstanding Researchers and Professors, and Multinational Executives and Managers
- EB-2: Exceptional People and Advanced Degree Holders
- EB-3: Bachelor’s Degree Holders, Skilled Workers, and Unskilled Workers
- EB-4: Special Immigrants
- EB-5: Investors
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Every month, USCIS announces whether applicants already living in the United States should file their “adjustment of status” applications based on the “Final Action Dates” or the “Dates for Filing.”
For December, family-based applicants — except those in the F-2A category — must use the “Dates for Filing” (available on the State Department’s website), whereas F-2A must use the “Final Action Dates.” Employment-based visa applicants must use the Dates for Filing, as must applicants filing from outside the United States.
Family-Based Green Card Backlogs
F-1: UNMARRIED CHILDREN (AGE 21 AND OLDER) OF U.S. CITIZENS
This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a 4-month change
F-2A: SPOUSES AND UNMARRIED CHILDREN (UNDER AGE 21) OF U.S. GREEN CARD HOLDERS
This category sees no change, with all countries remaining current.
F-2B: unmarried children (age 21 or older) of U.S. green card holders
This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a 3-month change
F-3: married children of U.S. citizens
This category sees no change for all countries.
F-4: siblings of U.S. citizens
This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a 2-month change
EB-1: extraordinary people, outstanding researchers and professors, and multinational executives and managers
This category sees no change for all countries.
EB-2: exceptional people and advanced degree holders
Most countries remain current (meaning there is no wait) and two see movement in this category:
- No wait for the General Category, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
- China advances by 2 months, and India advances by 6 months.
EB-3: bachelor’s degree holders, skilled workers, and unskilled workers
All countries remain current (meaning there is no wait) or see no change this month.
In the EB-4 “special immigrants” category, all countries remain current except for Central America, which advances by 2 month. For the EB-5 "investors" category, all countries remain current or see no change.
Why This Matters
If you’re in line for a green card, it’s important to keep track of actual changes (and likely future developments) in the Visa Bulletin. It’s always a good idea to prepare all the documents needed for your green card application ahead of time, so you can be ready to file as quickly as possible once the Visa Bulletin shows that a green card is available to you. By failing to file in a month when a green card is available, you risk facing a surprise backward movement (“retrogression”) in the next Visa Bulletin, which would close your window of opportunity for filing a green card application. Stay tuned for next month’s update! As always, we’ll highlight all the important changes for you.
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Find the archived Visa Bulletin for December 2021 or check out the most recent Visa Bulletin.
If you don’t know what a “visa bulletin” or a “priority date” is, we’ve got you covered. Start by checking out the Boundless guide on How to Read the Visa Bulletin.
If you’re already familiar with those terms, scroll down to our summary of key developments or to the filing category that’s most relevant to you:
- F-1: Unmarried Children (Age 21 and Older) of U.S. Citizens
- F-2A: Spouses and Unmarried Children (Under Age 21) of U.S. Green Card Holders
- F-2B: Unmarried Children (Age 21 or Older) of U.S. Green Card Holders
- F-3: Married Children of U.S. Citizens
- F-4: Siblings of U.S. Citizens
- EB-1: Extraordinary People, Outstanding Researchers and Professors, and Multinational Executives and Managers
- EB-2: Exceptional People and Advanced Degree Holders
- EB-3: Bachelor’s Degree Holders, Skilled Workers, and Unskilled Workers
- EB-4: Special Immigrants
- EB-5: Investors
{{newsletter-component}}
Every month, USCIS announces whether applicants already living in the United States should file their “adjustment of status” applications based on the “Final Action Dates” or the “Dates for Filing.”
For December, family-based applicants — except those in the F-2A category — must use the “Dates for Filing” (available on the State Department’s website), whereas F-2A must use the “Final Action Dates.” Employment-based visa applicants must use the Dates for Filing, as must applicants filing from outside the United States.
Family-Based Green Card Backlogs
F-1: UNMARRIED CHILDREN (AGE 21 AND OLDER) OF U.S. CITIZENS
This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a 4-month change
F-2A: SPOUSES AND UNMARRIED CHILDREN (UNDER AGE 21) OF U.S. GREEN CARD HOLDERS
This category sees no change, with all countries remaining current.
F-2B: unmarried children (age 21 or older) of U.S. green card holders
This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a 3-month change
F-3: married children of U.S. citizens
This category sees no change for all countries.
F-4: siblings of U.S. citizens
This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a 2-month change
EB-1: extraordinary people, outstanding researchers and professors, and multinational executives and managers
This category sees no change for all countries.
EB-2: exceptional people and advanced degree holders
Most countries remain current (meaning there is no wait) and two see movement in this category:
- No wait for the General Category, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
- China advances by 2 months, and India advances by 6 months.
EB-3: bachelor’s degree holders, skilled workers, and unskilled workers
All countries remain current (meaning there is no wait) or see no change this month.
In the EB-4 “special immigrants” category, all countries remain current except for Central America, which advances by 2 month. For the EB-5 "investors" category, all countries remain current or see no change.
Why This Matters
If you’re in line for a green card, it’s important to keep track of actual changes (and likely future developments) in the Visa Bulletin. It’s always a good idea to prepare all the documents needed for your green card application ahead of time, so you can be ready to file as quickly as possible once the Visa Bulletin shows that a green card is available to you. By failing to file in a month when a green card is available, you risk facing a surprise backward movement (“retrogression”) in the next Visa Bulletin, which would close your window of opportunity for filing a green card application. Stay tuned for next month’s update! As always, we’ll highlight all the important changes for you.
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