The U.S. Department of State released its Visa Bulletin for June 2020. That’s a big deal if you’re waiting for your priority date to be current so that your green card application can move forward.
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.
Here’s our summary of key developments in the June 2020 Bulletin:
- 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
The Bottom Line
The June 2020 Visa Bulletin brings some new movement in wait times for both the family-based (“F”) and employment-based (“EB”) green card categories.
The following key developments combine analysis by Boundless and insight from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which checks in every month with Charles “Charlie” Oppenheim, Chief of the State Department’s Visa Control and Reporting Division, for his assessment of “current trends and future projections.” The AILA insights below were excerpted from AILA Doc. No. 14071401.
Coronavirus Updates:
- Due to COVID-19’s impact on Oppenheim’s ability to analyze government datasets, his analysis for June does not contain forward-looking projections.
- June 2020 marks the F2A category remaining current for one full year, after becoming current in July 2019. This is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
- There continue to be small to moderate advancements in all other family-based preference categories throughout the month of June, especially for Philippines family-based categories.
In employment-based categories:
- In terms of employment-based categories, Oppenheim notes that the EB1 category, which became current in May 2020, remains current in June. Given the lack of EB-1 demand and the likelihood of otherwise unused numbers becoming available from the EB-5 category, this category is expected to remain current through the end of FY2020.
- He also expects EB-5 India to become current by August 2020.
Wonky technical note: This post focuses on the “Final Action Dates” in the Visa Bulletin because these dates are most relevant for figuring out when applicants will ultimately receive their green cards. Every month, however, 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 June, all family-based visa applicants — except those in the F-2A category — must use the “Dates for Filing” (available on the State Department’s website), whereas F-2A and employment-based visa applicants must use the “Final Action Dates.” Applicants filing from outside the United States must follow the Final Action Dates. Read on for details…
Family-Based Green Card Backlogs
F-1: unmarried children (age 21 and older) of U.S. citizens
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | 22-May-14 | 22-Mar-14 | -2 months |
| China | 22-May-14 | 22-Mar-14 | -2 months |
| India | 22-May-14 | 22-Mar-14 | -2 months |
| Mexico | 15-Nov-97 | 22-Oct-97 | -3 weeks, 1 day |
| Philippines | 1-Feb-11 | 1-Sep-10 | -5 months |
This category sees movement for all countries, continuing an advancing trend:
- Mexico advances the least, with an advance of around 3 weeks
- The Philippines advances the most, with a 5-month advance
- Other countries advance 2 months
F-2A: spouses and unmarried children (under age 21) of U.S. green card holders
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | No wait | No wait | No Change |
| China | No wait | No wait | No Change |
| India | No wait | No wait | No Change |
| Mexico | No wait | No wait | No Change |
| Philippines | No wait | No wait | No Change |
This category has seen no change, with all countries remaining current.
F-2B: unmarried children (age 21 or older) of U.S. green card holders
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | 15-Mar-15 | 15-Jan-15 | -2 months |
| China | 15-Mar-15 | 15-Jan-15 | -2 months |
| India | 15-Mar-15 | 15-Jan-15 | -2 months |
| Mexico | 15-Feb-99 | 15-Jan-99 | -1 month |
| Philippines | 1-Sep-10 | 1-Jun-10 | -3 months |
In June, there is movement for all countries of over one or two months:
- Three-month advance for the Philippines, continuing on an advancing trend dating back to October 2019
- Two-month advance for all other categories, except Mexico which only sees a one-month advance
F-3: married children of U.S. citizens
Country New
Cut-off DateOld
Cut-off DateChange in Wait Time General Category 15-Apr-08 15-Mar-08 -1 month China 15-Apr-08 15-Mar-08 -1 month India 15-Apr-08 15-Mar-08 -1 month Mexico 22-Jun-96 8-Jun-96 -2 weeks Philippines 15-Apr-01 15-Nov-00 -5 months Most countries see advances of over one month, continuing an advancing trend that began several months ago:
- One-month advances for General Category, India, and China
- Two-week advance for Mexico
- Five-month advance for the Philippines
F-4: siblings of U.S. citizens
Country New
Cut-off DateOld
Cut-off DateChange in Wait Time General Category 8-Aug-06 22-Jul-06 -2 weeks, 3 days China 8-Aug-06 22-Jul-06 -2 weeks, 3 days India 22-Jan-05 8-Jan-05 -2 weeks Mexico 8-May-98 15-Apr-98 -3 weeks, 1 day Philippines 1-Feb-01 1-Oct-00 -4 months All countries advance but this advance is mostly measured in weeks (vs. months) and has slowed from May:
- The Philippines sees a four-month progression
- Mexico experiences a three-week advance
- Two-week advance for India, the General Category and China
EB-1: extraordinary people, outstanding researchers and professors, and multinational executives and managers
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | No Wait | No Wait | No Change |
| China | 15-Aug-17 | 15-Jul-17 | -1 month |
| Central America | No Wait | No Wait | No Change |
| India | 08Jun16 | 01Aug15 | -10 months, 1 week |
| Mexico | No Wait | No Wait | No Change |
| Philippines | No Wait | No Wait | No Change |
| Vietnam | No Wait | No Wait | No Change |
Very strong movement continues across this category and many categories have now moved to being current, meaning there is no wait:
- No wait for the General Category, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam and the Philippines
- Ten-month advance for India
- One-month advance for China
EB-2: exceptional people and advanced degree holders
Country New
Cut-off DateOld
Cut-off DateChange in Wait Time General Category No Wait No Wait No Change China 1-Nov-15 1-Oct-15 -1 month Central America No Wait No Wait No Change India 12-Jun-09 2-Jun-09 -10 days Mexico No Wait No Wait No Change Philippines No Wait No Wait No Change Vietnam No Wait No Wait No Change No change for most of the category, except for India and China:
- No visa wait time for the General Category, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam and the Philippines
- One-month advance for China
- Ten-day advance for India
EB-3: bachelor’s degree holders, skilled workers, and unskilled workers
Country New
Cut-off DateOld
Cut-off DateChange in Wait Time General Category 08Nov17 01Jan17 -10 months, 1 week China 15-Jun-16 15-May-16 -10 months Central America 08Nov17 01Jan17 -10 months, 1 week India 1-Apr-09 1-Mar-09 -1 month Mexico 08Nov17 01Jan17 -10 months, 1 week Philippines 08Nov17 01Jan17 -10 months, 1 week Vietnam 08Nov17 01Jan17 -10 months, 1 week A previous stall in this category has somewhat lifted, with strong advances now being experienced throughout:
- Ten-month advances for General Category, Central America, Mexico, China, Philippines and Vietnam
- One-month advance for India
In the EB-4 “special immigrants” category, many countries are current and others see moderate advances. In the EB-5, no real changes are seen, except for India, China, and Vietnam that experience moderate advances:
| Category | Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-4: Special Immigrants | General Category | No Wait | No Wait | No Change |
| China | No Wait | No Wait | No Change | |
| Central America | 15Dec16 | 15Aug16 | -4 months | |
| India | No Wait | No Wait | No Change | |
| Mexico | 8Jun18 | 1May18 | -1 month, 1 week | |
| Philippines | No Wait | No Wait | No Change | |
| Vietnam | No Wait | No Wait | No Change | |
| Category | Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
| EB-5: Investors | General Category | No Wait | No Wait | No Change |
| China | 15-Jul-15 | 1-Jul-15 | -2 weeks | |
| Central America | No Wait | No Wait | No Change | |
| India | 1-Jan-20 | 1-Oct-19 | -3 months | |
| Mexico | No Wait | No Wait | No Change | |
| Philippines | No Wait | No Wait | No Change | |
| Vietnam | 22-Apr-17 | 1-Apr-17 | -3 weeks |
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.