The Department of State has released the October 2019 Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the employment-based priority dates. As of today, September 19, 2019, USCIS has advised that in October 2019 it will accept adjustment of status applications for both employment-based and family-based petitions based on the October Bulletin’s application filing dates for all categories except for the F2A family-based category, which may file based on final action dates. As Vietnam is not listed on the “Dates for Filing” chart, adjustment applicants from Vietnam should use the worldwide dates found in the “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed” column.
With respect to Application Filing Dates, which will govern all filing dates for the month except for F2A, all EB-1 categories except China and India have advanced to July 1, 2019. EB-1 China retrogressed by a month to September 1, 2019, and EB-1 India retrogressed by six and a half months to March 15, 2017. All EB-2 and EB-3 countries of chargeability remain current, except for China and India. EB-2 China retrogressed to August 1, 2016 while EB-2 India advanced one month to July 1, 2009. EB-3 China advanced nine months to March 1, 2017 and EB-3 India retrogressed by two months to February 1, 2010. EB-5 dates remained current, except for EB-5 China which advanced to January 1, 2015.
With respect to Final Action Dates, all EB-1 categories, except India and China, have advanced to April 22, 2018. EB-1 China has advanced to November 1, 2016, and EB-1 India has become available once again, reverting to its July cut-off date of January 1, 2015. With the exception of India and China, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability have become current, while EB-2 China has retrogressed by two years to January 1, 2015, and EB-2 India progressed by only 4 days to May 12, 2009. All EB-3 countries of chargeability besides India, China, and the Philippines have become current, while EB-3 China advanced to November 1, 2015, EB-3 India advanced three and a half years to January 1, 2009, and the Philippines advanced over a year to October 15, 2017.
As the EB-5 Regional Center program is set to sunset on September 30, 2019, the category will be unavailable in October pending reauthorization of the program by Congress. Should the program be reauthorized, final action dates would immediately become current for October for all countries of chargeability except for China, which would be subject to an October 22, 2014 final action date, India which would be subject to a November 22, 2017 final action date, and Vietnam which would be subject to an October 15, 2016 final action date. Final action dates for the EB-5 Non-Regional Center program, which will not be affected, remain current with the exception of China, India, and Vietnam. EB-5 China remains at October 22, 2014, while EB-5 India advanced to November 22, 2017, and EB-5 Vietnam advanced to October 15, 2016.