December 2020 Visa Bulletin

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the December 2020 Visa Bulletin. Much of the movement is fairly modest, but the most dramatic change is significant retrogression for EB3 India in the dates for filing chart, commonly referred to as Chart B.

Visa Bulletin Summary

Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category

On the final action chart, otherwise known as Chart A, the EB1 China and India categories advance to an April 1, 2019 cutoff date. On Chart B, the cutoff date moves to November 1, 2020 for both countries. The category remains current for all other countries of chargeability.

Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2) Category

EB2 India advances to October 1, 2009 on Chart A, while EB2 China moves to May 1, 2016. This category remains current for all other countries of chargeability. On Chart B, EB2 India remains at May 15, 2011, and EB2 China keeps a cutoff date of October 1, 2016.

Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3) Category

The cutoff date for EB3 India moves to March 15, 2010 on Chart A. On Chart B, however, EB3 India retrogresses by a full year to January 1, 2014. For China, the cutoff date advances to November 1, 2017 on Chart A, and remains unchanged from last month on Chart B. This category remains current for all other countries of chargeability.

EB3 Other Workers

With the exception of China, the cutoff dates for EB3 other workers are the same for each country as its respective EB3 cutoff dates. For China, the cutoff date for EB3 other workers on Chart A moves to February 15, 2009, but remains unchanged on Chart B.

Employment-Based, Fourth Preference (EB4) Category

The cutoff date for EB4 Mexico on Chart A moves to November 22, 2018. The EB4 cutoff date for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras advances to February 1, 2018 on Chart A, and May 1, 2018 on Chart B. This category remains current for all other countries of chargeability.

Employment-Based, Fifth Preference (EB5) Category

For the EB5 category, the only movement is EB5 Vietnam, which advances to September 1, 2017 on Chart A.

Conclusion

The USCIS has not yet indicated whether Chart B may be used for purposes of applying for adjustment of status in December. If the DOS provides updated predictions this month, the details will be posted on MurthyDotCom.

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