TheDepartment of State has just issued the February2019 Visa Bulletin. This is the fifth Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year2019. This blog post analyzes this month’s Visa Bulletin.
February 2019 VisaBulletin
TableA: Final Action Dates — Applications with these dates may be approved fortheir Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.
|
EB
Class
|
All Other
|
CHINA
|
INDIA
|
PHILIPPINES
|
|
EB-1
|
01DEC17
|
08FEB17
|
08FEB17
|
01DEC17
|
|
EB-2
|
C
|
01OCT15
|
06APR09
|
C
|
|
EB-3
|
C
|
01JUL15
|
22APR09
|
01AUG17
|
TableB: Dates for Filing — The DOS may work on applications with these dates. Butthe Visa cannot be approved until the date is current per Table A.
|
EB
Class
|
All Other
|
CHINA
|
INDIA
|
PHILIPPINES
|
|
EB-1
|
01JUN18
|
01OCT17
|
01OCT17
|
01JUN18
|
|
EB-2
|
C
|
01NOV15
|
22MAY09
|
C
|
|
EB-3
|
C
|
01JAN16
|
01APR10
|
01OCT17 |
MULaw Analysis (all references are to Table A unless noted)
AllOther: As weexpected, the EB-1 category again moved several months. We expect continued steady movement in thiscategory for All Other. We do not seeany retrogression in the future for EB2 or EB3, other than the usualretrogression at the end of the Fiscal Year.
China: Likewise, the China EB-1 categoryprogressed several months. This category may not move as fast as All Other inthe next few Visa Bulletins. China EB-2moved two months. EB-3 only moved a fewweeks, reflecting continued high demand. Still, we expect EB-3 to slightly outpace EB-2 in the next few VisaBulletins.
India: India EB-2 moved by just one week. EB-3 progressed by six weeks. Weexpect the slow/no progress to be standard for EB-2 in the first part of FY2019. We are slightly more optimisticabout India EB-3, which could continue to progress faster than EB-2.
Philippines: The EB-3 date showed steadyprogress, improving by six weeks. Over the course of FY2019, we shouldeventually see the EB-3 priority date extend into FY2018.