Visa Bulletin
Number 21 – Volume X
Washington, D.C.
SEPTEMBER 2018
As U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has indicated at www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo, USCIS will use the chart below to determine who may file applications for adjustment of status (Form I-485) with USCIS during the month of September. Only applicants with Priority Dates earlier than the cut-off dates listed below may file their I-485 adjustment of status applications with USCIS during September.
|
Family-
Sponsored
|
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed
|
CHINA-mainland born
|
INDIA
|
MEXICO
|
PHILIPPINES
|
|
F1
|
08MAR12
|
08MAR12
|
08MAR12
|
01SEP98
|
15FEB08
|
|
F2A
|
01DEC17
|
01DEC17
|
01DEC17
|
01DEC17
|
01DEC17
|
|
F2B
|
22MAR14
|
22MAR14
|
22MAR14
|
08JUN97
|
15DEC07
|
|
F3
|
22SEP06
|
22SEP06
|
22SEP06
|
08OCT98
|
01AUG95
|
|
F4
|
01MAY05
|
01MAY05
|
01JAN05
|
01JUN98
|
01DEC95
|
|
Employment-
Based
|
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed
|
CHINA-mainland born
|
EL SALVADOR
GUATEMALA
HONDURAS
|
INDIA
|
MEXICO
|
PHILIPPINES
|
VIETNAM
|
|
1st
|
01JUN16
|
01JAN12
|
01JUN16
|
01JAN12
|
01JUN16
|
01JUN16
|
01JUN16
|
|
2nd
|
01JAN13
|
01JAN13
|
01JAN13
|
01JAN07
|
01JAN13
|
01JAN13
|
01JAN13
|
|
3rd
|
01NOV16
|
01NOV14
|
01NOV16
|
01JAN03
|
01NOV16
|
01NOV16
|
01NOV16
|
|
Other Workers
|
01NOV16
|
01MAY07
|
01NOV16
|
01JAN03
|
01NOV16
|
01NOV16
|
01NOV16
|
|
4th
|
C
|
C
|
15FEB16
|
15FEB16
|
15FEB16
|
C
|
C
|
|
Certain Religious Workers
|
C
|
C
|
15FEB16
|
15FEB16
|
15FEB16
|
C
|
C
|
|
5th Non-Regional Center
|
C
|
08AUG14
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
08AUG14
|
|
5th Regional Center
|
C
|
08AUG14
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
08AUG14
|
“C” = Current. No queue or backlog in this visa category at this time.
“U” = Unavailable. No visas available in this category at this time.
Excerpted from https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2018/visa-bulletin-for-September-2018.html
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First: Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, and any unused first preference numbers:
A. Spouses and Children: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older): 23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third: Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth: Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First: Priority Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.
Second: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.
Third: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to "Other Workers".
Fourth: Certain Special Immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level.
Fifth: Employment Creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of P.L. 102-395.