On July 16, 2019, USCIS determined that for August 2019, the Dates for Filing chart must be used for family-based preference filings, and the Final Action Dates chart must be used for employment-based preference filings.
In the F2A category, there is a cutoff date on the Dates for Filing chart. However, the category is “current” on the Final Action Dates chart. This means that applicants in the F2A category may file using the Final Action Dates chart for August 2019. For all the other family-based preference categories, you must use the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for August 2019.
In addition to the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications, the August 2019 Visa Bulletin includes information on the diversity immigrant (DV) category, establishment and retrogression of August employment-based Final Action Dates, and the DV-2020 lottery results. As discussed in our July 12, 2019 post, there are some notable retrogressions in employment-based (EB) categories. The EB-3 category for India retrogresses to Jan. 1, 2006 while EB-2 and EB-3 categories for all other countries retrogress to Jan. 1, 2017 and July 1, 2016, respectively.
For more Visa Bulletins, click here.