The US visa bulletin for December has been released by the Department of State. The US visa bulletin shows the deadlines for Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications by immigrant visa applicants for submitting necessary paperwork to the National Visa Center, for demands received by November 3.
Unless otherwise indicated on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS must use the “Final Action Dates” charts below for determining when they can file such applications.
The US visa bulletin shows the deadlines for Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications by immigrant visa applicants for submitting necessary paperwork to the National Visa Center.
In the December US Visa bulletin, there are some advancements for the employment-based applicants from India.
Employer-sponsored EB-1 and EB-2 categories are two of the most common ways to enter the US and eventually qualify for green cards.
For Indian applicants in the EB-1 category, Final Action Date advances 1 month with a cut-off date of March 15, 2022.
For Indian applicants in the EB-2 category, Final Action Date advances 1 month 14 days with a cut-off date of May 15, 2013.
For Indian applicants in the EB-3 category, Final Action Date advances 1 month with a cut-off date of September 22, 2013.
Dates for Filing Applications remain unchanged for EB-1 category with a cut-off date of April 15, 2023; EB-2 category Filing Dates remains unchanged with a cut-off date of December 1, 2013; EB-3 category Filing Dates remain unchanged with a cut-off date of August 15, 2014.
Filing Date for the 5th Unreserved category remains 1 April 2022. Current immigrants should start working on their Adjustment of Status cases. If they already have an AOS pending with USCIS, it will not be considered until the Final Action date becomes current.
When USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, USCIS will state on its website that applicants may instead use the “Dates for Filing Visa Applications” charts in this Bulletin.
Applicants for immigrant visas who have a priority date earlier than the application date in the chart may assemble and submit required documents to the Department of State’s National Visa Center, following receipt of notification from the National Visa Center containing detailed instructions.
The application date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who cannot submit documentation to the National Visa Center for an immigrant visa. If a category is designated “current,” all applicants in the relevant category may file, regardless of priority date.
The “C” listing indicates that the category is current, and that applications may be filed regardless of the applicant’s priority date. The listing of a date for any category indicates that only applicants with a priority date that is earlier than the listed date may file their application.
The fiscal year 2026 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants determined in accordance with Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.
A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES
B. DATES FOR FILING FAMILY-SPONSORED VISA APPLICATIONS
A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES
B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS
For December, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2026 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
For January, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2026 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
