The U.S. Department of State has published the monthly Visa Bulletin for April 2021, unveiling the new EB-5 cut-off dates for visa applicants from backlogged countries for the upcoming month. In addition, the Visa Bulletin also announced that the agency will host a monthly live chat with Mr. Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the U.S. Department of State, on its YouTube channel beginning on March 17 at 1pm Eastern Time.
EB-5 FINAL ACTION DATES (CHART A)
The April Visa Bulletin revealed the following final action dates for EB-5 visa applicants:
- Mainland China: August 15, 2015
- No movement since the September 2020 Visa Bulletin;
- Vietnam: December 15, 2017
- Advanced 54 days from the March 2021 Visa Bulletin, the biggest monthly advancement since September 2020;
- All Other Countries: Current
- EB-5 visa applicants not from China or Vietnam continue to be able to receive their EB-5 visa number in April 2021 and can file an immigration visa application or adjustment of status application immediately after the approval of their I-526 petition without any delay.
(Chart A on the April 2021 Visa Bulletin)
EB-5 DATES FOR FILING (CHART B)
The dates for filing of the EB-5 visa category on the April 2021 Visa Bulletin remain unchanged from the previous Visa Bulletins:
(Chart B on the April 2021 Visa Bulletin)
USCIS has not yet announced whether the agency will accept dates for filing for adjustment of status applicants of the employment-based categories in April 2021. IIUSA will continue to monitor the update on USCIS’s website and inform our stakeholders.
MONTHLY LIVE CHAT WITH CHARLIE
The April Visa Bulletin also announced that, beginning on March 17, 2021 (Wednesday), the Department of State will host a monthly “Chats with Charlie” at 1pm EST on the agency’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/TravelGov) to “discuss information provided in the monthly Visa Bulletin.”
In addition, stakeholders are encouraged to submit questions prior to the event. Selected questions will be answered live during the chat. See below for the instructions to submit your question(s):
Questions can be emailed to VisaBulletin@state.gov ahead of the event with “Chat with Charlie Question” in the subject line. Questions will also be taken via the YouTube Live Chat and will be answered in real-time. The event is intended to address issues of general interest related to the content of the Visa Bulletin, and no policy, case, or post specific questions will be accepted.
