USCIS has issued the April 2019 visa bulletin. The First Preference Employment showed no movement for Chinese and Indian foreign nationals, but advanced approximately one month for all other countries. Now, all foreign nationals in this category except those born in China and India can apply for adjustment of status if their priority date is on or before February 1, 2018.
The Second Preference category will remain current for all foreign nationals except those born in China and India. China showed the most movement. Chinese foreign nationals whose EB-2 cases were filed prior to April 2, 2016 are eligible to file an application for adjustment of status starting April 1st. Likewise, Indian foreign nationals may file for adjustment of status under this category if their case was filed prior to April 13, 2009.
The Third Preference category continues to be current for all countries except China, India, and the Philippines. All countries showed at least one month of movement, leaving China at August 1, 2015; India at June 22, 2019; and the Philippines at March 1, 2018. For India and the Philippines, all “other workers” have the same dates for filing. The most backlogged employment-based preference category, all “other workers” from China, sits at August 22, 2007.
Family-based categories: The April Visa Bulletin indicates slight movement in most family-based preference categories across all nationalities. While the majority of categories show advancement from one week to five months, the family-based third preference for the Philippines remains the same.