State Department Releases December Visa Bulletin; USCIS to Use Dates for Filing Chart

Last Updated on February 23, 2023

Key Points

  • The Dates for Filing Chart will be used for the December 2020 Visa Bulletin
  • China and India EB-1 see modest advancement
  • China and India EB-2 progress nine days
  • China EB-3 moves ahead one month, and India EB-3 regresses one month
  • Most countries stay current for EB-4 except for Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico
  • Priority dates advance for individuals born in Vietnam in EB-5

Overview

The State Department has published the December 2020 Visa Bulletin, which will follow the Dates for Filing Chart to determine eligibility for adjustment of status. December brings minor changes to EB-1 and EB-3, while all other priority date cutoffs are the same.

What are the Changes?

Following the Dates for Filing Chart (B), the 2020 December bulletin shows modest advancement to November 1, 2020 for China and India EB-1. All other countries remain current. For EB-2, China and India both move ahead by nine days. China’s priority cut-off date is now October 1, 2016, and India’s is May 15, 2011. All other countries are current. The priority cut-off date has moved ahead one month to June 1, 2018 for China EB-3, while it has regressed to January 1, 2014 for India. The dates for all other countries are current. Most countries are current for EB-4 in December, although Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras advance three months to February 1, 2018, and Mexico EB-4 progresses 38 days to November 22, 2018. For EB-5 (C5 and T5), the priority date advances to September 1, 2017 for individuals born in Vietnam. All other countries are current.

What Should Employers and Applicants Know?

USCIS will also use the Dates for Filing chart for all family-based applications except for F2A, which will use Final Action Dates instead.


Envoy is pleased to provide you this information, which was prepared in collaboration with Sara Herbek, who is the Managing Partner at Global Immigration Associates, P.C. (www.giafirm.com), Envoy’s affiliated law firm.

Content in this publication is not intended as legal advice, nor should it be relied on as such. For additional information on the issues discussed, consult an Envoy-affiliated attorney or another qualified professional.