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USCIS Visa Bulletin

USCIS Visa Bulletin

The USCIS Visa Bulletin: Understanding Immigration and Visa Priority Dates

Introduction

The USCIS Visa Bulletin is an important resource for people who are seeking to enter the United States through employment-based or family-sponsored visas. The bulletin provides up-to-date information on visa availability and priority dates. It is published monthly by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In this article, we will discuss the USCIS Visa Bulletin, including its purpose, how to read it, and recent updates.

What is the USCIS Visa Bulletin?

The USCIS Visa Bulletin is a document that provides updated information on when visas are available to be issued to applicants based on their priority date. Priority dates are assigned to all applicants for employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas. The priority date is the date when the applicant’s petition was filed with USCIS. When the priority date becomes current, the applicant is eligible to apply for a visa.

The purpose of the USCIS Visa Bulletin is to inform applicants about the current availability of visas and to manage the allocation of visas when more people apply than there are available visas. The bulletin is used to prevent the backlog of visa applications, and to ensure that visas are allocated in an orderly manner.

Understanding the Categories of Visas

The USCIS Visa Bulletin is organized into four categories:

Family-sponsored visas: These visas are for individuals who are seeking to immigrate to the United States through a family member who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Family-sponsored visas are further divided into four preference categories: F1, F2A, F2B, F3, and F4.

Employment-based visas: These visas are for individuals who are seeking to immigrate to the United States for employment purposes. Employment-based visas are further divided into five preference categories: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, and EB-5.

Diversity visas: These visas are issued under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which allocates visas to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

Special Immigrant visas: These visas are for special categories of immigrants, including religious workers, employees of the U.S. government abroad, and Afghan and Iraqi nationals who have worked for the U.S. government.

How to Read the USCIS Visa Bulletin

To understand the USCIS Visa Bulletin, you need to know how to read it. The bulletin is divided into two parts: the final action dates chart and the dates for filing chart. The final action dates chart provides the dates when visas may be issued to applicants who have already established eligibility for immigrant visas, while the dates for filing chart provides the dates when applicants may file applications for adjustment of status.

The final action dates chart is divided into three columns:

Preference Category: This column indicates the preference category under which the applicant is filing.

Country of Chargeability: This column indicates the country to which the applicant belongs.

Date for Filing Visa Application: This column indicates the date when the applicant’s visa application may be processed.

The dates for filing chart is also divided into three columns:

Preference Category: This column indicates the preference category under which the applicant is filing.

Country of Chargeability: This column indicates the country to which the applicant belongs.

Final Action Dates: This column indicates the dates when visas may be issued to applicants who have already established eligibility for immigrant visas.

Updates on the USCIS Visa Bulletin

In the most recent update on the USCIS Visa Bulletin, the priority date for the F2B category (unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents) for Mexico was moved from May 22, 2019, to December 22, 2019. This means that applications for adjustment of status for the F2B category with a priority date of December 22, 2019, and earlier may now be filed.

Additionally, the priority date for the EB-1 category for India and China remained the same, with a cut-off date of June 1, 2018. Meanwhile, the EB-2 category for China moved forward by a month, with a cut-off date of January 1, 2017. The EB-2 category for India moved forward by two weeks, with a cut-off date of June 2, 2009.

Conclusion

The USCIS Visa Bulletin is an essential resource for individuals who are seeking to immigrate to the United States through employment-based or family-sponsored visas. It provides up-to-date information on visa availability and priority dates and is used to manage the allocation of visas when more people apply than there are available visas. The bulletin is organized into four categories: family-sponsored visas, employment-based visas, diversity visas, and special immigrant visas. Reading the bulletin can be complex, but understanding the priority dates and how they affect visa availability is critical for successful immigration.


What is the USCIS?

The USCIS or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, is a government-run bureau of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

The USCIS performs a number of administrative functions that are specifically designed to streamline and organize Immigration and naturalization applications. These functions, which were formerly carried out by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, aim to promote national security and expedite the immigration process through elimination of case backlogs.

Specifically, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Department is responsible for delivering the following functions associated with immigration and naturalization: adjudicating asylum claims, adjudicating petitions for non-immigrant temporary workers, granting lawful and permanent residences, granting United States’ citizenship documentation, and issuing employment authorization documents.

Furthermore, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Department aims to offer improved and understanding customer service agents to aid those individuals looking to earn legal citizenship or residency within the United States.

As a result of these functions, the USCIS is typically flooded with applicants, petitions and cases. To streamline the filing and processing times of these applications, the USCIS is extremely organized in regards to their requirements, specifically the forms needed to imitate each request. Each form is attached with a specific filing fee, waiting time or processing period, and status update.

As a result of the ever-changing laws associated with naturalization and immigration, many applicants are confused in regards to the status of their application. To keep applicants informed and to make them aware of the fluctuations in regards to the legal issues which surround immigration and naturalization, the USCIS publishes a Visa Bulletin on their website and through the mail.

What is the USCIS Visa Bulletin?

The USCIS Visa Bulletin is a government-issued publication that is designed to update applicants in regards to the legal issues that may affect their application. These issues are directly tied-into the forms and requirements for naturalization and immigration.

The Visa Bulletin, which can be located at www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin. Is a research-based publication that provides an applicant (for naturalization or immigration) with pertinent updates which may affect an individual’s pending application.

The USCIS Visa Bulletin is updated monthly; each entry will reflect the current fluctuations in immigration law.

The USCIS Visa Bulletin is extremely comprehensive and will reveal all changes made to each immigration or naturalization process as well as their attached applications. Additionally, the USCIS Visa Bulletin will offer an applicant with the necessary forms, statistics, and information concerning Visa Services. Furthermore, by accessing the Visa Bulletin, an individual applicant can observe the fees and reciprocity tables attached to each application as well as a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions concerning the Immigration and Naturalization process.