On September 15, U.S. local time, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially announced that for October 2017 (the first month of the 2018 fiscal year), all employment-based immigration applicants must use the 'FAD' (Final Action Date, or Chart A) cutoff dates published in the Department of State's October Visa Bulletin to file Form I-485 for adjustment of status in the United States.
Unsurprisingly, EB-1 has regained visa availability.
Family-sponsored categories F1/F4, which saw significant retrogression last month, have advanced significantly this month, effectively remaining at a standstill.
Employment-based category EB-3 has advanced by two years.
Other categories remain unchanged or have seen minor advancements.
This month, Chart B is available for family-sponsored immigration; Chart B remains closed for employment-based immigration.
In the tables below, the 'All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed' section refers to all countries and regions other than mainland China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
USCIS previously opened Chart B for use in the first two months of the 2016 fiscal year (October-November 2015) and in the first month of the 2017 fiscal year (October 2016). However, for the new 2018 fiscal year, the entire employment-based immigration category has completely moved away from using Chart B.
Worldway Immigration experts remind applicants: Although Chart B is temporarily closed, the dates in Chart A continue to advance slowly. It is expected that as the new fiscal year progresses and new visa quotas are released, combined with the fact that the U.S. Congress has recognized the importance of legislative improvements to visa backlogs and is attempting to resolve these issues through legislation, the future EB-5 visa backlog is expected to be fundamentally resolved.