Visa Bulletin Archive: August 2020

This is our analysis of the US Visa Bulletin from August 2020. Click here for the most recent version.

Here’s our summary of key developments. Find the filing category that’s most relevant to you:

Family-based categories

• 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

Employment-based categories

• 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

Now let’s continue…

The Bottom Line

The August 2020 Visa Bulletin brings some new movement in wait times for both the family- (“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 August does not contain forward-looking projections.

In family-based categories:

• Oppenheim notes that recent advances in the family-based preference categories have resulted in the accumulation of large amounts of demand and may result in a slow-down family date advances. THis has been mostly due to more limited processing capacity.
• Again, the F2A category remains current in August across countries and is expected to remain so in September and October.
• There are advances in all family visa categories and countries, with multiple countries being current.

In employment-based categories:

• In August the final action date for EB-1 China moves forward 4.5 months from August 22, 2017 to February 8, 2018. EB-1 India continues to advance rapidly but at the slightly slower pace of nine months.
• As predicted, EB-5 India which became current in July, continues to remain current in August. This trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
• Finally, EB-2 Worldwide remains current in August and will remain so through the end of this fiscal year.

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 July, 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.

Family-Based Green Card Backlogs

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

This category sees movement for all countries:

• All countries see progress, continuing an advancing trend from April
• Mexico again experiences the least movement, with an advance of 2 weeks
• The Philippines advances the most, with a three-month advance
• Other countries advance by just over one month
  

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

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

In August, 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
• One-month advance for all other categories, except Mexico which only sees a two-week advance

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

Steady advances this month for all countries:

• Two-week advances for General Category, India, Mexico and China
• Three-month advance for the Philippines

F-4: siblings of U.S. citizens

All countries advance in this category:

• The Philippines sees a three-month progression
• Two-week advance for India, the General Category, Mexico, and China
  

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  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	8-Feb-18	22-Aug-17	-5 months, 2 weeks, 3 days
  Central America	No Wait	No Wait	No Change
  India	08Feb18	08May17	-9 months
  Mexico	No Wait	No Wait	No Change
  Philippines	No Wait	No Wait	No Change
  Vietnam	No Wait	No Wait	No Change

  Most countries remain current (meaning there is no wait) and two continue to see movement across this category:

• No wait for the General Category, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam and the Philippines
• Nine-month advance for India
• Five-month advance for China
  

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  EB-2: exceptional people and advanced degree holders

  Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
  General Category	No Wait	No Wait	No Change
  China	15-Jan-16	8-Nov-15	-2 months, 1 week
  Central America	No Wait	No Wait	No Change
  India	8-Jul-09	8-Jul-09	No Change
  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, which both sow compared to June:

• No visa wait time for the General Category, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam and the Philippines
• Two-month advance for China
• No change for India, whose priority date remains unchanged
  

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

  Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
  General Category	01Apr19	15Apr18	-11 months, 2 weeks, 3 days
  China	15-Feb-17	22-Jun-16	-7 months, 3 weeks, 3 days
  Central America	01Apr19	15Apr18	-11 months, 2 weeks, 3 days
  India	1-Oct-09	1-Jun-09	-4 months
  Mexico	01Apr19	15Apr18	-11 months, 2 weeks, 3 days
  Philippines	01Apr19	15Apr18	-11 months, 2 weeks, 3 days
  Vietnam	01Apr19	15Apr18	-11 months, 2 weeks, 3 days

  Strong advances continue throughout this category, with all countries advancing:

• Eleven-month advances for General Category, Central America, Mexico, Philippines and Vietnam
• Four-month advance for India
• Seven-month advance for China
  

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  In the EB-4 “special immigrants” category, many countries are current and others see moderate advances or none. In the EB-5 category, almost all countries remain current except for Vietnam and China, which see 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	01Apr17	01Feb17	-2 months
  	India	No Wait	No Wait	No Change
  	Mexico	15Jun18	15Jun18	No Change
  	Philippines	No Wait	No Wait	No Change
  	Vietnam	No Wait	No Wait	No Change
  EB-5: Investors	General Category	No Wait	No Wait	No Change
  	China	8-Aug-15	22-Jul-15	-2 weeks, 3 days
  	Central America	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
  	Vietnam	22-Jul-17	15-May-17	-2 months, 1 week

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  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.