The January 2018 Priority Dates

The January 2018 Priority Dates

Each month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below. If your priority date was “current,” but later retrogressed (or “moved backwards” and became unavailable) before your immigrant visa was issued (or before you adjusted status in the U.S.), you would have to wait until it becomes current again.

Beginning last October 2015, the format of the Visa Bulletin changed, in that a new column was added, called the “Application Filing Date.” If a person’s priority date is earlier than the Application Filing Date, they can already file for adjustment of status and work authorization (provided they are otherwise eligible and USCIS indicates on its website it will use the Application Filing Date for that month). This could allow people to obtain work authorization much sooner than before, where they had to wait for the priority date to be current (in the Visa Issuance Date column) in order to both file for adjustment and be eligible for a green card.

The priority dates for the Philippines are as follows:

FAMILY CATEGORY: Application Filing
Date
Visa Issuance
Date
First Preference Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
(over 21 years of age)
October 1, 2007 January 01, 2005
Second Preference (2A) Spouse and minor children
(below 21 years old) of green card holder
November 01 , 2016 February 1, 2016
(2B) Unmarried sons and daughters
(21 years old or older) of green card holder
September 01, 2007 July 01, 2006
Third Preference Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens June 15, 1995 March 15, 1995
Fourth Preference Brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens. March 1, 1995 September 01, 1994

 

LABOR CERTIFICATION Application Filing Date Visa Issuance Date
Second Preference Advanced Degree (Masters) Current Current
Third Preference Professional/Skilled Workers August 01, 2016 January 15, 2016
Other workers Non-Skilled Workers August 01, 2016 January 15, 2016

Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 35 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories”, endorsements and re-enactments) are of a general nature, and are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

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