The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated.

Below is a summary of the July Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month.

India:  As predicted in the June Visa Bulletin, the EB-3 final action date for India retrogresses in July—a whopping 3.5 years, to January 1, 2009, for both EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers. EB-1 holds at February 1, 2022, and EB-2 at January 1, 2011.

China:  No movement in any preference categories. EB-1 stalls at February 1, 2022; EB-2 at June 8, 2019; EB-3 at April 1, 2019; and EB-3 Other Workers at September 1, 2015.

All Other Countries:  EB-3 retrogresses 4 months to February 1, 2022. EB-1 remains current; EB-2 holds at February 15, 2022; and EB-3 Other Workers holds at January 1, 2020.

NOTE 1: Unlike recent editions, the July Bulletin offers no predictions for movement of any kind, either progression or retrogression, in upcoming months.  This silence implies that the current cutoff dates may persist until the October start of the new fiscal year.

NOTE 2: USCIS will accept I-485 applications in July based on the State Department’s Final Action Dates chart, not the more favorable Dates for Filing chart.

Carol Schlenker also contributed to this article.