August 2021 Visa Bulletin Commentary

The August 2021 Visa Bulletin was released later afternoon yesterday. Some of the significant forward movement we have seen in most categories in recent months has slowed a bit, which makes sense as we approach the end of the fiscal year. However, we continue to see modest forward movement in most categories, with significant movement this month for EB3 India. EB1 India and EB1 China continue to remain current, and this shows no signs of changing soon. USCIS has not yet indicated which charts are to be used by applicants for this month, but it will likely be the same as the previous month, with the Final Action Dates chart to be used by applicants filing for their greencards in the employment-based and F2A categories, and the Dates for Filing chart to be used by those in the remaining family-based categories.

Commentary:

August 2021

For all countries except India, China, Philippines, and Mexico: F2A category priority date remains current, F2B preference advances 7 days to a PD of 22 September 2015, F4 category advances 21 days to 1 March 2007; EB1 remains current; EB2 remains current; and EB3 remains current.

For India only: F2A category remains current, F2B preference advances 7 days to 22 September 2015, F4 advances 17 days to a PD of 1 September 2005; EB1 remains current; EB2 remains at 1 June 2011; EB3 advances 181 days to a PD of 1 July 2013; EB5 Non-Regional Center remains current and the Regional Center remains unavailable.

For China only: EB1 remains current; EB2 advances 121 days to a PD of 1 April 2018; EB3 advances 7 days to a PD of 8 January 2019; EB5 Non-Regional Center advances 7 days to a PD of 15 November 2015 and the Regional Center remains unavailable.

For Vietnam only: EB5 Non-Regional Center is now current and the Regional Center remains unavailable.

Can file your immigrant applications if PD before:

F2A Current; F2B 22 September 2016 for All Areas, except 8 August 2000 for Mexico and 1 October 2013 for Philippines; F4 1 October 2007 for All Areas, except 1 December 2005 for India, 8 May 1999 for Mexico, and 1 February 2004 for Philippines.

EB1 Current for all countries, including China and India; EB2 All countries except India and China are current; EB3 Current for all countries except India and China; EB2 India 1 June 2011; EB3 India 1 July 2013; EB2 China 1 April 2018; EB3 China 8 January 2019; EB5 China (Non-RC) 15 November 2015; EB5 China (RC) Unavailable; Vietnam Current for all categories.

Notes copied from the Department of State regarding Visa availability:

D.  EXPIRATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIFTH PREFERENCE I5 and R5 REGIONAL CENTER VISA CATEGORIES

Division O, Title 1, Section 104 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 extended the immigrant investor pilot program until June 30, 2021.  No I5 or R5 visas may be issued overseas or final action taken on adjustment of status cases after June 30, 2021.

The final action dates for the I5 and R5 categories have been listed as “Unavailable” for August.

If there is legislative action extending this category for August, the final action dates would immediately become “Current” for August for all countries except China-mainland born I5 and R5, which would be subject to a November 15, 2015 final action date.

E.  FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON VISA PROCESSING AT U.S. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, PLEASE VISIT THE BUREAU OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS WEBSITE AT TRAVEL.STATE.GOV

F.  @TRAVELGOV BEGINS HOSTING MONTHLY YOUTUBE LIVE “CHATS WITH CHARLIE”

@TravelGov will be hosting "Chats with Charlie" on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/TravelGov) to discuss information provided in the monthly Visa Bulletin.  This month's chat is scheduled to take place on July 19, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. EST to discuss the August Visa Bulletin.  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.

G.  DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY 2022 (DV-2022) RESULTS

The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2021 diversity lottery.  The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available *55,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.  Approximately 119,021 applicants have been registered and notified and may now make an application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely that some of the first *55,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance, this larger figure should ensure that all DV-2022 numbers will be used during fiscal year 2022 (October 1, 2021 until September 30, 2022).

Applicants registered for the DV-2022 program were selected at random from 7,336,302 qualified entries (13,191,296 with derivatives) received during the 35-day application period that ran from noon, Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, until noon, Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.  The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximum of seven percent available to persons born in any single country.  During the visa interview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years.  Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly.  Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fully complete the information requested.

Registrants living legally in the United States who wish to apply for adjustment of their status must contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for information on the requirements and procedures.  Once the total *55,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2022 will end.  Selected applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2022 will derive no further benefit from their DV-2022 registration.  Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2022 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative diversity visa status until September 30, 2022.

Dates for the DV-2023 program registration period will be widely publicized in the coming months.  Those interested in entering the DV-2023 program should check the Department of State’s Visa web page in the coming months.

*The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program.  This will result in reduction of the DV-2022 annual limit to approximately 54,850.

The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign state of chargeability of those registered for the DV-2022 program:

AFRICA

ALGERIA  6,001

ESWATINI  1

MOZAMBIQUE  2

ANGOLA  855

ETHIOPIA  2,988

NAMIBIA  9

BENIN  735

GABON  66

NIGER  49

BOTSWANA  4

GAMBIA, THE  77

RWANDA  983

BURKINA FASO  72

GHANA  3,145

SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE  4

BURUNDI  390

GUINEA  672

SENEGAL  277

CABO VERDE  12

GUINEA-BISSAU  15

SEYCHELLES  7

CAMEROON  2,656

KENYA  2,882

SIERRA LEONE  271

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC  21

LESOTHO  8

SOMALIA  435

CHAD  231

LIBERIA  1,417

SOUTH AFRICA  497

COMOROS  10

LIBYA  311

SOUTH SUDAN  75

CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE  3,347 

MADAGASCAR  19

SUDAN  6,001

CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE  574

MALAWI  22

TANZANIA  103

COTE D’IVOIRE  597

MALI  74

TOGO  1,119

DJIBOUTI  187

MAURITANIA  158

TUNISIA  203

EGYPT  6,005

MAURITIUS  12

UGANDA  722

EQUATORIAL GUINEA  3

MOROCCO  4,138

ZAMBIA  56

ERITREA  261

  Western Sahara  2

ZIMBABWE  222

ASIA

AFGHANISTAN  3,410

JORDAN  917

SAUDI ARABIA  944

BAHRAIN  15

KOREA, NORTH  0

SINGAPORE  19

BHUTAN  114

KUWAIT  222

SRI LANKA  838

BRUNEI  2

LAOS  22

SYRIA  483

BURMA  561

LEBANON  320

TAIWAN  574

CAMBODIA  1,094

MALAYSIA  44

THAILAND  186

INDONESIA  218

MALDIVES  2

TIMOR-LESTE  0

IRAN  5,739

MONGOLIA  293

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES  275

IRAQ  1,512

NEPAL  3,802

YEMEN  1,561

ISRAEL  207

OMAN  27

JAPAN  510

QATAR  90

EUROPE

ALBANIA  2,756

GREECE  42

NORTHERN IRELAND  3

ANDORRA  0

HUNGARY  100

NORWAY  10

ARMENIA  2,066

ICELAND  8

POLAND  355

AUSTRIA  36

IRELAND  24

PORTUGAL  20

AZERBAIJAN  919

ITALY  324

  Macau  2

BELARUS  1,808

KAZAKHSTAN  1,978

ROMANIA  264

BELGIUM  35

KOSOVO  334

RUSSIA  6,001

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA  67

KYRGYZSTAN  1,993

SERBIA  214

BULGARIA  220

LATVIA  43

SLOVAKIA  24

CROATIA  21

LIECHTENSTEIN  0

SLOVENIA  10

CYPRUS  10

LITHUANIA  110

SPAIN  184

CZECH REPUBLIC  27

LUXEMBOURG  3

SWEDEN  32

DENMARK  15

MALTA  0

SWITZERLAND  31

ESTONIA  24

MOLDOOVA  798

TAJIKISTAN  2,122

FINLAND  28

MONACO  0

TURKEY  2,526

FRANCE  205

MONTENEGRO  48

TURKMENISTAN  745

  Saint Martin  5

NETHERLANDS  34

UKRAINE  4,949

GEORGIA  1,604

  Sint Maarten  2

UZBEKISTAN  6,001

GERMANY  526

NORTH MACEDONIA  293

VATICAN CITY  0

NORTH AMERICA

BAHAMAS, THE  16

OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA  1,031

MARSHALL ISLANDS  2

PALAU  30

  Christmas Island  6

MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF  4

SAMOA  5

  Cocos Keeling Islands  2

NAURU  9

SOLOMON ISLANDS  11

  Norfolk Island  6

NEW ZEALAND  248

TONGA  133

FIJI  950

  Cook Islands  19

TUVALU  4

KIRIBATI  11

PAPUA NEW GUINEA  26

VANUATU  4

SOUTH AMERICA

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA  0

DOMINICA  3

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS  0

ARGENTINA  146

ECUADOR  249

SAINT LUCIA  3

BARBADOS  0

GRENADA  0

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES  0

BELIZE  0

GUYANA  5

SURINAME  4

BOLIVIA  38

NICARAGUA  18

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO  26

CHILE  24

PANAMA  4

URUGUAY  0

COSTA RICA  8

PARAGUAY  0

VENEZUELA  1,800

CUBA  975

PERU  198

Natives of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2022: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

H.  OBTAINING THE MONTHLY VISA BULLETIN

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