The Department of State released the November Visa Bulletin, which contains some movement of final action dates in certain employment-based categories.

• The Worldwide EB1-1 category remains current for all categories, including individuals born in mainland China, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico and the Philippines.

• The cutoff date for worldwide chargeability in the EB-2 category is current but for mainland China and India.  There was significant movement for mainland China in the EB-2 category which moved from Feb. 15, 2012, to July 15, 2012, and for India, which moved from Jan. 15, 2007, to Nov. 1, 2007.

• In the EB-3 category, the cutoff date for worldwide chargeability, as well as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico moved one month from June 1, 2016, to July 1, 2016.  The cutoff date for mainland China moved nearly three months from Jan. 22, 2013, to April 15, 2013, while the cutoff date for the Philippines moved four months from Dec. 1, 2010, to April 1, 2011.

• For those in the EB-5 category, the priority date remains current for all applicants other than those born in mainland China, which moved its cutoff date by two weeks from Feb. 22, 2014, to March 8, 2014.

• For October 2016, the Department announced an extension in the following categories:

• EB-4 category for Certain Religious Workers (SR) is current for all countries except El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, which are subject to a June 15, 2015 final action date;

• EB-5 Pilot (I5 and R5) is current for all countries except mainland China, which is subject to a Feb. 22, 2014 final action date.

• Since additional Diversity Visa (DV) 2017 entrants were recently added to “selected” status in September, the Department reminded DV-17 Lottery Winners to check their status using their confirmation number on the Entrant Status Check (ESC) website. If “selected,” entrants should complete the online DS-260 applications immediately in order to schedule an interview appointment at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

For those seeking to adjust status, The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) website indicates that the Department’s Application Final Action Dates chart must be used for filing Form I-485.

The November Application Final Action Dates for Employment-Based categories are as follows: