IMMIGRATION CORNER
– Michael J. Gurfinkel (The Philippine Star 

The May 2021 priority dates continue to provide great news for workers in the EB-3 (skilled/professional) and “other worker” (unskilled workers like caregivers) categories. The priority dates for all countries (except India and China) are CURRENT! This includes the Philippines. This means visas are available, regardless of the person’s priority date.  If a person is being petitioned by an employer, and their Form I-140 employment-based petition has been approved or is pending, they could possibly be eligible to file for adjustment of status and work authorization, assuming they are otherwise eligible for adjustment of status (i.e. no issues re maintaining status, no fraud/crimes, etc.). People with approved or pending I-140 petitions should see an attorney about their eligibility to file for adjustment, now that the priority dates for these employment-based categories are current.

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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 US), you would have to wait until it becomes current again.

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The priority dates for the Philippines are as follows:

 

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