The U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the February 2020 Visa Bulletin.
FINAL ACTION DATES
The Bulletin revealed a final action date of December 01, 2014 for applicants from Mainland China advancing 2 weeks from the January Visa Bulletin and a final action date of December 15, 2016 for Vietnam born applicants, with an advancement of 1 week.
As indicated on the January 2020 Visa Bulletin, the final action date for Indian born EB-5 visa applicants advanced “at a very rapid pace” to September 1, 2018 on the February Visa Bulletin with a 4-month advancement. However, it’s important to note that the dramatic advancement of India’s final action date did not represent a decrease in the number of new Indian investors in terms of I-526 filings. Rather, it indicates that the number of documentarily qualified Indian applicants with an I-526 approval is decreasing at the National Visa Center (NVC) in recent months because of the slow I-526 adjudication in USCIS, allowing NVC to digest the current backlog of qualified India visa applicants at a faster pace.
As of February 1, 2020 Mainland Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian investors who filed their I-526 petitions on or before the new cutoff dates will be eligible to schedule interviews with Department of State Consular offices and be issued conditional immigration visas to enter the U.S. or apply for adjustment of status if they are already in the U.S. All other countries remain current.
Final Action Dates on February 2020 Visa Bulletin
DATES FOR FILING
The dates for filing on the February Visa Bulletin remain unchanged from the January Visa Bulletin. However, at the moment, USCIS has not updated its website for the information on whether the agency will continue accepting Chart B (dates for filing for employment-based visa applications) for February. IIUSA will monitor USCIS’s website and inform the stakeholder of the latest update.
Dates for Filing on January 2020 Visa Bulletin
