State Department

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USA: February 2017 Visa Bulletin: Some Advancement in Final Action Dates for EB-2 China, EB-3 India and China

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According to the State Department’s February Visa Bulletin, immigrant visa availability dates for final action will advance by one month for EB-2 China, to November 15, 2012, while EB-2 India will remain at April 15, 2008.

The EB-3 subcategory for professionals and skilled workers will advance by three weeks for China, to October 1, 2013; one week for India, to March 22, 2005; nearly three months for the Philippines, to October 15, 2011; and two months for all other countries, to October 1, 2016. The EB-3 other worker subcategory will advance by one week for India, to March 22, 2005; nearly three months for the Philippines, to October 15, 2011; 

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US: FY 2018 Diversity Visa lottery registration opens October 4

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The State Department will begin accepting online registrations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery starting Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at noon EDT.

Foreign nationals who wish to enter the lottery have until Monday, November 7, 2016 at noon EST to file online.

The DV lottery program makes 50,000 green card numbers available each year through random selection. FY 2018 lottery results will be announced in May 2017. Foreign nationals selected in the FY 2018 lottery can submit their green card applications starting on October 1, 2017.

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US: August 2016 Visa Bulletin

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According to the State Department’s August Visa Bulletin, cut-off dates for final issuance of an immigrant visa will be imposed for EB-1 India and China and for EB-2 Worldwide, as projected last month.  The cut-off dates for EB-1 India and China have been set at January 1, 2010, while the cut-off dates for EB-2 Worldwide have been set at February 1, 2014. According to the State Department, it was necessary to implement this retrogression given the high demand for classification in these categories.  It anticipates that these categories will be current again in October, the first month of fiscal year 2017.

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United States: July 2016 visa bulletin: Modest advancement in EB-2 and EB-3 India while China largely holds steady to June dates

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According to the State Department’s July Visa Bulletin, there will be modest advancement in the cutoff dates for final issuance of an immigrant visa for EB-2 and EB-3 India next month, while these cutoff dates for China will remain largely unchanged, as projected last month.

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US: April Visa Bulletin update

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USCIS has determined that, next month, it will only accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that is current for final action according to the State Department’s April Visa Bulletin. 

Employer-sponsored foreign nationals with a priority date that makes them eligible for filing, but not final action, will not be able to submit an adjustment application next month.

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US: April 2016 Visa Bulletin

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According to the State Department’s April Visa Bulletin, the cut-off date for final issuance of an immigrant visa will advance by one month for EB-2 China, to September 1, 2012, and by three weeks for EB-2 India, to November 8, 2008. 

Final action cut-off dates for EB-3 professionals and skilled workers will advance by two and one-half months for China, to August 15, 2013; by three weeks for India, to August 8, 2004; by six weeks for the Philippines, to May 1, 2008; and by six weeks for all other countries, to February 15, 2016. Final action cut-off dates for EB-5 China, in both the Regional Center and non-Regional Center programs, will advance by one week, to February 1, 2014.

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US: March 2016 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 India and China final action dates will advance again

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According to the State Department’s March Visa Bulletin, the cutoff date for final issuance of an immigrant visa will advance by five months for EB-2 China, to August 1, 2012, and by six weeks for EB-2 India, to October 15, 2008. 

Final action cut-off dates for EB-3 professionals and skilled workers will advance by eight months for China, to June 1, 2013; by one month for India, to July 15, 2004; by just over two months for the Philippines, to March 15, 2008; and by three months for all other countries, to January 1, 2016.  Final action cut-off dates for EB-5 China, in both the Regional Centre and non-Regional Centre programs, will advance by one week, to January 22, 2014.

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USA: February 2016 Visa Bulletin

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EB-2 India and China Final Action Dates Will Advance Next Month; Moderate Advancements for EB-3 India, China and the Philippines, and EB-5 China

According to the State Department’s February Visa Bulletin, the cut-off date for final issuance of an immigrant visa will advance by six months for EB-2 India, to August 1, 2008, and by one month for EB-2 China, to March 1, 2012. 

Cut-off dates for EB-3 professionals and skilled workers will moderately advance for India, China and the Philippines, while remaining the same for all other countries.  For EB-3 professional workers, the final issuance cut-off dates will move forward by one month for India, to June 15, 2004, by three months for China, to October 1, 2012, and by over two months for the Philippines, to January 8, 2008.  For EB-3 skilled-workers, India will progress by one month, to June 15, 2004, and China will progress by three weeks, to December 22, 2006.  

Final action cut-off dates for EB-5 China, in both the Regional Centre and non-Regional Centre programs, will advance by one week, to January 15, 2014.  

There will be no advancement in cut-off dates for eligibility to file an application for permanent residence.  Next week, USCIS is expected to determine whether it will accept adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that makes them eligible to file in February.  The agency has not accepted these applications in January and will announce whether it will begin doing so in February on its own Visa Bulletin web page.

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U.S.: State Department to discontinue option to add pages to U.S. passports

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The State Department will no longer entertain requests to add pages to U.S. passports after December 31, 2015, according to an agency regulation published today. The discontinuance of this service, which is popular among frequent international travelers, will coincide with the January release of a new and highly securitized “Next Generation U.S. Passport.” 

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USA: Reminder: FY 2017 Diversity Visa lottery registration ends November 3

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Registration for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery ends on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at noon EST. Foreign nationals who wish to register for the FY 2017 DV lottery must submit their online registration forms and accompanying digital photographs by that time. Applicants must carefully follow the State Department’s official lottery instructions to avoid having their registrations disqualified. 

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services changes adjustment acceptance procedures

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has revised its procedures for determining whether it will accept adjustment applications under the newly reformatted State Department Visa Bulletin, it announced today.  After the Visa Bulletin is released each month, USCIS will take an additional week to determine whether it will accept applications for adjustment and related work and travel benefits from those with a priority date that is current for application filing in the forthcoming month.