The U.S. Department of State has released its October Visa bulletin 2020 three days ago. This country-specific monthly bulletin indicates who can file for an adjustment of status based on their date of filings and the final action date. The two dates, also known as “priority date,” are important as they show whether a foreign worker such as those in H-1b or PERM workers can file for a “green card”.
Major Forward Movement for EB-2 EB-3 India – October Visa bulletin 2020
The most notable change in the October Visa Bulletin 2020 is the EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 dates for filing and final action dates. The most dramatic part of the October Visa Bulletin is EB-3 India. As shown below, the date for filing is January 1, 2015. But, the final action date is January 15, 2010. This is a 5 years difference between the date for filing and final action date. Where a case typically takes 6 to 12 months to process, a final action date is essentially 5 years out. The purpose of the date for filing is to give some lead time for filing the case while waiting for the anticipated final action date to become current for the given priority date. The 5 year difference raises many questions such as:
- Is this a mistake?
- Are the final action dates going to leap forward significantly?
- Is the Department of State trying to create demand?
October Visa Bulletin 2020 for EB-1 India
EB-2 and EB-1 India is also of interest. EB2 date for filing is May 15, 2011 while the final action date is September 1, 2009, almost a 2 year difference. EB1 India date for filing is essentially current on September 1, 2020 while the final action date is June 1, 2018. These are relatively large gaps that also pose the above questions.
A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES
| Employment- based | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES | VIETNAM |
| 1st | C | 01JUN18 | C | 01JUN18 | C | C | C |
| 2nd | C | 01MAR16 | C | 01SEP09 | C | C | C |
| 3rd | C | 01JUL17 | C | 15JAN10 | C | C | C |
B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS
| Employment- based | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 01SEP20 | C | 01SEP20 | C | C |
| 2nd | C | 01OCT16 | C | 15MAY11 | C | C |
| 3rd | C | 01JUN18 | C | 01JAN15 | C | C |
Possible Factors affecting the October Visa Bulletin 2020
In the year of 2020 with Covid and all the other world events and constant changes, is the visa bulletin expecting limited demand because of layoffs? We have no way of knowing for sure. Immigration Lawyers have the luxury of receiving monthly check ins with Charlie Oppenheim. Assuming we receive an update from Charlie Oppenheim in October, this will be the most anticipated update.
Contact a Chicago Immigration Attorney for your Adjustment of Status
For those that are in the US and have a comfortable immigration status and a permanent job offer, you should file for an adjustment of status now. For those outside the US or that do not have a permanent job offer, there are a variety of factors that need to be analyzed and discussed. Please stay turned as more information becomes available. If you would like to discuss your case, please reach out to our Chicago immigration Attorneys in Illinois. We have over 30 years of collective experience helping foreign workers for their immigration needs.