On May 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of State released the June 2021 Visa Bulletin.1  The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also determined that it will accept employment-based Forms I-485, Applications to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, next month according to the Visa Bulletin’s “Final Action Dates” chart.2  

The U.S. State Department continued its recently launched “Chats with Charlie” on YouTube to discuss the monthly Visa Bulletin.3 Charlie Oppenheim is Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State. He has historically made predictions about movement in priority date cut-offs. Mr. Oppenheim hosted a live chat related to the June 2021 Visa Bulletin on May 25, 2021. 

WHY THIS MATTERS

Each month, the U.S. Department of State releases a Visa Bulletin indicating the availability of statutorily limited visas for prospective immigrants.4 The cut-off dates reflected in the Visa Bulletin, coupled with USCIS’ confirmation of which chart will apply, dictate eligibility to file a Form I-485 application in a given month. In addition, the Final Action Dates chart in the applicable Visa Bulletin determines whether pending Form I-485 application may be approved.

On this month’s “Chats with Charlie” video, Mr. Oppenheim predicted that the employment-based annual numerical limit will be increased to at least 290,000 for Fiscal Year 2022, and that employment-based preference dates will continue to advance aggressively for the remainder of the fiscal year and into fiscal 2022 due to the increased limit.  

Employment-Based Preference Categories

The cut-off dates under the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based immigrant visas under the June 2021 Visa Bulletin will be as follows:

EB-1: All countries of chargeability, including India and the People’s Republic of China (“China”), will remain current.

EB-2: All countries of chargeability except India and China will remain current. China’s cut-off date will advance by five months to May 1, 2017. India’s cut-off date will advance four months to December 1, 2010.

EB-3 Professionals & Skilled Workers: All countries of chargeability, except India and China, will remain current. China will advance three months and 15 days to September 1, 2018, and India will advance nine months to November 1, 2011.

EB-3 Other Workers: All countries of chargeability except for India and China will remain current. China’s cut-off date for next month advances two months to October 1, 2009, while the cut-off date for India moves ahead by nine months to November 1, 2011.

EB-4: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras will advance two months to November 1, 2018. Mexico will advance more than seven months, to November 1, 2019. All other countries of chargeability will remain current.

EB-5: All countries of chargeability, except China and Vietnam, will remain current. China will advance one month to September 15, 2015, and Vietnam’s cut-off date will advance by two months to April 15, 2018.

FOOTNOTES

1  U.S. Department of State website.

2  See the “Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin” page on the USCIS website.

3  See: https://www.youtube.com/user/TravelGov.

4  For our prior coverage of the May 2021 Visa Bulletin, read GMS Flash Alert 2021-121 (26 April 2021).

* Please note the KPMG International member firm in the United States does not provide immigration or labour law services. However, KPMG Law LLP in Canada can assist clients with U.S. immigration matters.

The information contained in this newsletter was submitted by the KPMG International member firm in Canada.

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