The October 2020 Visa Bulletin has shown a lot of movement in Employment-Based Priority Dates. It is a fact that while the majority of family-based greencards are issued overseas at the consulate by getting an immigrant visa, the majority of employment-based greencards are issued within the U.S. by filing for an Adjustment of Status (I-485). As per the current immigration law, if enough greencards are not issued under the family-based greencard category, the leftover quota can be used for employment-based greencards. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, immigrant visa processing was banned in April 2020. Additionally, most of the consular services that issue these immigrant visas remain closed. Therefore, the number of family-based greencards issued fell far short of the quota. And that results in the remaining numbers spilling over into the employment-based greencard quota. Compared to the fiscal year 2020, the number of employment-based greencards available in fiscal year 2021 is up by more than 100,000. Priority dates for India and China have advanced significantly according to the October 2020 Visa Bulletin, and the dates are expected to rapidly advance through January 2021. For all other countries, the priority dates for employment-based greencards remain current. There has been really no movement in the family-based greencard priority dates.
The following October 2020 visa bulletin was released by the U.S. Department of State. The dates in the visa bulletin represent the earliest priority date that will be processed during the month the visa bulletin is issued. Certain high demand countries, such as China (Mainland born), India, Mexico, and Philippines have a much longer wait time compared to the rest of the world (ROW).
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In the "FAMILY-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS" table, the categories listed are as follows: F1 - Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens F2A - Spouses and Children of permanent Residents F2B - Unmarried Sons and Daughters F3 - Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens F4 - Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens.
Further information on visa bulletin preferencesFAMILY-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS:
| Application Final Action Dates for Family-Based Preference Cases | |
| Family-Based | |
| Dates for Filing Family-Based Visa Applications | |
| Family-Based | |
EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS:
| Application Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases | |
| Employment-Based | |
| Dates for Filing Employment-Based Visa Applications | |
| Employment-Based | |
In the "EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS" table, the categories listed are as follows: EB1 - Priority Workers EB2 - Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability EB3 - Skilled Workers and Professionals EB3 - Other - Other Unskilled Workers EB4 - Certain Special Immigrants EB4 - Religious - Religious Workers EB4 - Iraq and Afghan Translators EB5 - Employment creation EB5 - Targeted Employment Areas EB5 - Pilot Programs EB5 - Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) EB5 - Regional Center (I5 and R5)
