Monday, November 23, 2020

DECEMBER 2020 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS

The Department of State has just issued the December 2020 Visa Bulletin. This is the third Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2021. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

December 2020 Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.


Employment-
based

All Other

CHINA

INDIA

PHILIPPINES

1st

C

01APR19

01APR19

C

2nd

C

01MAY16

01OCT09

C

3rd

C

01NOV17

15MAR10

C


Table B: Dates of Filing

The USCIS again announced that it will allow the more favorable Date of Filing chart for I-485 Adjustment of Status. This means that all employment-based immigrants in EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 can file their I-485s.  However, if they are natives of India or China, their priority date must be earlier than these dates:

Employment Based

CHINA-mainland

INDIA

1st

01NOV20

01NOV20

2nd

01OCT16

15MAY11

3rd

01JUN18

01JAN15


MU Law Analysis

Unlike last month, the DOS issued a timely Visa Bulletin for December. 

Both the Philippines and Worldwide (All Other) EB-3 continue to be current.  We expect these categories to stay current for the foreseeable future.  The only constraint to the Philippine EB-3 visas being issued is the capacity at the Embassy in Manila.  It remains to be seen how increasing COVID infection rates bear on embassies capacities.

India had another month defined by variance.  India EB-1 moved ahead six months.  India EB-2 and EB-3 each moved ahead by about 1-2 weeks.  The interesting news was that the Dates of Filing for India EB-3 retrogressed by a year, reflecting the fact that an enormous number of India EB-3 I-485s have been filed in October and November.  This retrogression probably means that no further material progress will happen in India EB-3 for a long time.

China EB-2 and EB-3 both moved forward by a few weeks, a trend that may continue.  China EB-1 showed more progress than expected, perhaps because of declining rates of visa issuance out of the American posts in China.

MU expects that future Visa Bulletins will continue to have positive news, including slow but continued forward progression in the Chinese and Indian categories.  We also expect the Philippine and Worldwide categories will remain current for the foreseeable future.


11 comments:

  1. Hi, Atty! Do you have an estimate timeline when would july 2019 PDs be interviewed? Is USEM doing any routine interviews now or totally close? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Btw, this for USEM Manila. Thanks!

      Delete
    2. No - Unfortunately the embassy is short staffed because of COVID and so the interviews are inconsistent

      Delete
  2. Hello Sir,
    Do you think the EO banning the visa entry until the end of Dec 2020 might be extended for more months to 2021? Aside from the positive Visa Bulletin will the rest of the process be moving forward aside from the essential workers?
    Thank you very much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No - but if it is extended, I doubt that the incoming Biden administration will keep the ban in place.

      Delete
  3. For someone who has a PD of april 2020 and dq oct 2020. Do you have a guesstimate when the id will be? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately the embassy is short staffed because of COVID and so the interviews are inconsistent.

      Delete
  4. Good atty.
    What would you think will happen to visa bulletin if biden will start his work January? Would still remain current for ph ? Would embassy in manila will accommodate more applicants ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that it will be better but the biggest issue is the COVID rate keeping the embassy at a small staff

      Delete
  5. Sir i was interviewed and my husband was not because he can nit attend his interview due to travel restriction. I will be going to the US first. Can he go to the US using tourist visa while waiting for his interview in the philippines? Will that affect his immigrant application soon?

    Is it safe to go home to the Philippines now that I have visa? Some says that it is risky because Biden will be seated as a president and we don’t know his strategy to combat Covid in his time..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Generally speaking, he should NOT enter the US on the tourist visa.
      Having said that you may want to seek a qualified attorney to address the specific situation.

      I think any travel has an element of risk in light of global infection rates.

      Delete

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