Most immigrant visas are numerically limited by category and by country of assignment (which, in most cases, is one’s country of birth). Most immigrants are sponsored by relatives who are US citizens or permanent residents, alternatively, through their jobs or investments in the United States. Scroll to the bottom of the page to view the current status of the State Department’s Visa Bulletin showing delays in categories based on family and employment preferences for immigrant visas.
If you are unfamiliar with the Visa Bulletin, this page explains what are the categories of family and job categories . Please note that the Visa Bulletin looks back on the past, in other words it indicates the time that someone down a specific category has waited to receive a visa, and not the wait times for people who are currently applying.
USCIS has announced that for the month of April 2019, it will allow individuals to apply for Adjustment of Status in employment-based categories using the State Department’s Final Action Date Table instead of the Filing Date Table.
People born in countries other than India, China, Mexico and the Philippines should search under the column titled “World Cup”, which is currently on the left side of the page, to determine their “priority date”. The priority date is set by filing a family visa petition in the family categories, or by filing an application for a labor certification for an alien or by filing an employment-based visa petition. in job categories .
The word “current” or “current” indicates that there is currently no lag for a particular category. Alternatively, the word “not available” or “unavailable” indicates that it is not possible to apply for permanent residence in that category. Dates in the visa bulletin can be misleading. Some dates, especially in the employment-based categories, are “current” now, but may have longer delays. Others, especially in family-based categories, seem to be closer than they really are. To see the rate of advancement in a given category, visit the Visa Bulletin archive on the State Department page . This will allow you to view visa bulletins from February 1995 to the current date.
VISA BULLETIN – EMPLOYMENT
The categories of the employment-based visa are divided as follows: EB1) Priority workers EB2) Professionals with advanced degrees EB3) Specialized and unskilled workers EB4) Religious workers and other types EB5) Investors . An applicant’s priority date is the day the government received the company’s I-140 petition.
VISA BULLETIN – FAMILY
The following family-based categories are defined as follows: F1) Unmarried adult children of US citizens, F2A) spouses and children under 21 of lawful permanent residents, F3) married children of US citizens, F4) brothers or sisters. of US citizens. An applicant’s priority date is the date the government received Petition I-130, which had to be filed by a family member. For more information about family-based visas and how you can decrease your processing time, watch our informative videos.
