Cutoff dates for EB-3 Philippines retrogress by six years and nine months, cutoff dates for EB-5 China retrogress by two years, cutoff dates in the EB-2 India category advance by seven and a half months, cutoff dates in the EB-2 China advance by 14 months, cutoff dates for EB-3 China advance by four months, and cutoff dates for EB-3 for the Rest of the World advance by three months.

The US Department of State (DOS) has released its May 2015 Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin sets out per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate the flow of adjustment of status (AOS) and consular immigrant visa applications. Foreign nationals may file applications to adjust their statuses to that of permanent residents or to obtain approval of immigrant visas at a US embassy or consulate abroad, provided that their priority dates are prior to the respective cutoff dates specified by the DOS.

What Does the May 2015 Visa Bulletin Say?

The May 2015 Visa Bulletin shows an advancement of seven and a half months for the EB-2 India category. EB-3 cutoff dates for the worldwide category will advance by three months, the EB-2 cutoff dates for China will advance by 14 months, the EB-3 cutoff dates for China will advance by four months, and the EB-3 cutoff dates for the Philippines will retrogress by six years and nine months. In addition, the EB-5 cutoff dates for China retrogress by two years.

The cutoff date for F2A applicants in all categories will advance by one month in May.

EB-1: All EB-1 categories will remain current.

EB-2: The cutoff date for applicants in the EB-2 category chargeable to India will advance to April 15, 2008. The cutoff date for applicants in the EB-2 category chargeable to China will advance to June 1, 2012. The EB-2 category for all other countries will remain current.

EB-3: The cutoff date for applicants in the EB-3 category chargeable to India will advance by one week to January 15, 2004. The cutoff date for applicants in the EB-3 category chargeable to China will advance by four months to May 1, 2011. The cutoff date for applicants in the EB-3 category chargeable to Mexico and the worldwide category will advance by three months to January 1, 2015. The cutoff date for applicants in the EB-3 category chargeable to the Philippines will retrogress by six years and nine months to July 1, 2007.

EB-5: The cutoff date for applicants in the EB-5 category chargeable to China will retrogress by two years. The cutoff dates for applicants in the EB-5 category chargeable to the worldwide category remain current.

The relevant priority date cutoffs for foreign nationals in the EB-2 category are as follows:

China: June 1, 2012 (forward movement of 427 days)
India: April 15, 2008 (forward movement of 227 days)
Mexico: Current
Philippines: Current
Rest of the World: Current

The relevant priority date cutoffs for foreign nationals in the EB-3 category are as follows:

China: May 1, 2011 (forward movement of 120 days)
India: January 15, 2004 (forward movement of 7 days)
Mexico: January 1, 2015 (forward movement of 92 days)
Philippines: July 1, 2007 (retrogression of 2,649 days)
Rest of the World: January 1, 2015 (forward movement of 92 days)

The relevant priority date cutoffs for foreign nationals in the EB-5 category are as follows:

China: May 1, 2013 (retrogression of 730 days)
Rest of the World: Current

Developments Affecting the EB-2 Employment-Based Category

Mexico, the Philippines, and the Rest of the World 
The EB-2 category for applicants chargeable to all countries other than China and India has been current since November 2012. The May Visa Bulletin indicates no change to this trend. This means that applicants in the EB-2 category chargeable to all countries other than China and India may continue to file AOS applications or have applications approved through May 2015.

China 
The April Visa Bulletin indicated a cutoff date of April 1, 2011 for EB-2 applicants chargeable to China. The May Visa Bulletin indicates a cutoff date of June 1, 2012, reflecting forward movement of 14 months. This means that applicants in the EB-2 category chargeable to China with a priority date prior to June 1, 2012 may file AOS applications or have applications approved in May 2015.

India 
The April Visa Bulletin indicated a cutoff date of September 1, 2007 for EB-2 applicants chargeable to India. In May, the cutoff date for EB-2 applicants chargeable to India advances by seven and a half months to April 15, 2008. This means that applicants in the EB-2 category chargeable to India with a priority date prior to April 15, 2008 may file AOS applications or have applications approved in May 2015.

Developments Affecting the EB-3 Employment-Based Category

China 
The April Visa Bulletin indicated a cutoff date of January 1, 2011 for EB-3 applicants chargeable to China. In May, the cutoff date for EB-3 applicants chargeable to China advances by four months to May 1, 2011. This means that applicants in the EB-3 category chargeable to China with a priority date prior to May 1, 2011 may file AOS applications or have applications approved in May 2015.

India 
The April Visa Bulletin indicated a cutoff date of January 8, 2004. The May Visa Bulletin will advance slightly, with a cutoff date of January 15, 2004, an advancement of one week. This means that EB-3 applicants chargeable to India with a priority date prior to January 15, 2004 may file AOS applications or have applications approved in May 2015.

The Philippines 
The April Visa Bulletin indicated a cutoff date of October 1, 2014. The May Visa Bulletin will retrogress by six years and nine months, with a cutoff date of July 1, 2007. This means that only EB-3 applicants chargeable to the Philippines with a priority date prior to July 1, 2007 may file AOS applications or have applications approved in May 2015.

Rest of the World 
The April Visa Bulletin indicated a cutoff date of October 1, 2014 for EB-3 applicants chargeable to the worldwide category. The May Visa Bulletin indicates a cutoff date of January 1, 2015, reflecting forward movement of three months. This means that applicants in the EB-3 category chargeable to the worldwide category with a priority date prior to January 1, 2015 may file AOS applications or have applications approved in May 2015.

Developments Affecting the F2A Family-Sponsored Category

The April Visa Bulletin indicated a cutoff date of July 8, 2013 for F2A applicants from Mexico. The May Visa Bulletin indicates a cutoff date of August 8, 2013, reflecting forward movement of one month. This means that applicants from Mexico with a priority date prior to August 8, 2013 will be able to file AOS applications or have applications approved in May 2015.

The April Visa Bulletin indicated a cutoff date of August 1, 2013 for F2A applicants from all other countries. The May Visa Bulletin indicates a cutoff date of September 1, 2013, reflecting forward movement of one month. This means that F2A applicants from all other countries with a priority date prior to September 1, 2013 will be able to file AOS applications or have applications approved in May 2015.

Developments in the Coming Months

Regarding the retrogression of visa numbers for EB-5 China, the DOS notes that “It is extremely likely that this category will remain subject to a cut-off date indefinitely.”

Regarding the retrogression of visa numbers for EB-3 Philippines, the DOS notes that “This cut-off date had also been advanced very rapidly in an effort to generate sufficient demand to fully utilize all available numbers. The current rate of increase in demand has required the retrogression of this cut-off date for the month of May, in an attempt to hold number use within the annual limit for this preference category.” 

F2A Family-Sponsored Category

• The cutoff date in the F2A category will likely advance by three to four weeks per month.

Employment-Based Second Preference Category

• The worldwide category will likely remain current.

• The cutoff date in the EB-2 China category will likely advance by three to six weeks per month.

• The cutoff date in the EB-2 India category will likely advance by four to six months.

Employment-Based Third Preference Category

• The cutoff date in the EB-3 worldwide category will most likely be adjusted in the coming months as demand increases.

• The cutoff date in the EB-3 China category is expected to advance by three to six weeks per month.

• The cutoff date in the EB-3 India category will advance up to two weeks.

• The cutoff date in the EB-3 Mexico category will remain at the worldwide date.

• The cutoff date in the EB-3 Philippines category will advance slightly. Increased demand in this category may result in adjustments to the cutoff date later in the fiscal year.

How This Affects You

Priority date cutoffs are assessed on a monthly basis by the DOS, based on anticipated demand. Cutoff dates can move forward or backward or remain static. Employers and employees should take the immigrant visa backlogs into account in their long-term planning and take measures to mitigate their effects. To see the May 2015 Visa Bulletin in its entirety, please visit the DOS website.