The Visa Bulletin: What’s New for September 2018?

The U.S. Department of State recently released its Visa Bulletin for September 2018. 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, never fear — you’re a normal human being, and we’ve got you covered. Start by checking out the Boundless guide on How to Read the Visa Bulletin.

Now let’s continue…

The Bottom Line

The September 2018 Visa Bulletin brings some new movement in wait times for both the family-based (“FB”) and employment-based (“EB”) green card categories. Here are the key developments:

• In previous months, new backlogs and longer wait times were a trend only in employment-based categories. This month, some countries in the family-based categories show backward movement, as well.
• Great news for Filipino relatives: The Philippines move furthest ahead in most of the family-based categories.
• Chinese and Indian workers face even more significant delays than in previous months, with both groups’ cut-off dates moving back more than two years in the EB-2 category and six years for Indian EB-3 visa holders.
• Individuals of “extraordinary ability” from China and India have been losing their fast track to a green card for six consecutive months. These and other wait times are expected to reset on October 1, 2018, however, when the government’s fiscal new year begins.

(Wonky technical note: This post focuses on the “final action dates” in the visa bulletin, since these dates are most relevant for figuring out when applicants will ultimately receive their green cards.)

Read on for details…

Family-Based Green Card Backlogs

F-1: unmarried children (age 21 and older) of U.S. citizens

Only the Philippines moves forward in this category:

• One-month backward movement for the general category, China, and India (now April 8, 2011)
• No forward movement for Mexico (still August 1, 1997)
• Three-and-a-half-month advance for the Philippines (now November 15, 2006)

F-2A: spouses and unmarried children (under age 21) of U.S. green card holders

No movement for any country in this category:

• No forward movement for the general category, China, India, and the Philippines (still July 22, 2016)
• No forward movement for Mexico (still July 1, 2016)

F-2B: unmarried children (age 21 or older) of U.S. green card holders

Modest advances for everyone in this category except the Philippines, which shows nearly five times greater forward movement than in August:

• Ten-day advance for the general category, China, and India (now November 1, 2011)
• Three-week advance for Mexico (now April 22, 1997)
• Two-month and one-week advance for the Philippines (now April 22, 2007)

F-3: married children of U.S. citizens

Mexico and the Philippines show better forward progress this month than in August, while the wait time has increased for everyone else in this category:

• Six-week backward movement for the general category, China, and India (now May 1, 2006)
• Three-week advance for Mexico (now December 22, 1995)
• One-month advance for the Philippines (now June 1, 1995)

F-4: siblings of U.S. citizens

Steady progress for all countries except Mexico, whose cut-off date remains unchanged:

• Nearly two-and-a-half-week advance for the general category and China (now January 8, 2005) and for India (now April 8, 2004)
• No forward movement for Mexico (still January 15, 1998)
• Nearly five-and-a-half-week advance for the Philippines (now June 1, 1995)

Employment-Based Green Card Backlogs

EB-1: extraordinary people, outstanding researchers and professors, and multinational executives and managers

Several countries in this category move ahead somewhat. China and India still face a significant (though probably temporary) queue since previous months.

• One-month advance for the general category, Central America, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam (now June 1, 2016)
• No movement for China and India (still January 1, 2012)

EB-2: exceptional people and advanced degree holders

All countries in this category now have a wait time, with especially significant setbacks for China and India:

• New backlog for the general category, Central America, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam (now January 1, 2013)
• Two-year and two-month reverse movement for China (now January 1, 2013)
• Two-year and 10-week reverse movement for India (now January 1, 2007)

EB-3: bachelor’s degree holders, skilled workers, and unskilled workers

All countries in this category now have a wait time, with especially significant reverse movement for India:

• New backlog for the general category, Central America, Mexico, and Vietnam (now November 1, 2016)
• Four-month advance for China (now November 1, 2014)
• Six-year backward movement for India (now January 1, 2003)
• Seven-month backward movement for the Philippines (now November 1, 2016)

Finally, just to be complete about all of this: The cut-off date for EB-4 “special immigrants” has moved very slightly for Central America, India, and Mexico (now February 15, 2016). This category is current for everyone else. And there’s no wait time for EB-5 investors except those from China and Vietnam, each with only one-week forward movement since the previous month (now August 8, 2014).

Why This Matters

If you are an applicant in line for a green card, it’s important to keep track of actual changes in the visa bulletin and also likely future changes. 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 visa bulletin! As always, we’ll highlight all the important changes for you. In the meantime, let this cat show you how to properly take a leap of faith.