Feb 2022 Visa Bulletin: EB1 Dates Remain “Current” for all Countries.

Feb 2022 Visa Bulletin: The Bulletin includes both Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Visa Applications.

Under the Feb 2022 Visa Bulletin, the first employment-based categories, EB-1, remain “current” for all chargeability areas (China, India, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Central America, and the rest of the world). This means that all applicants chargeable to this allocation may continue to file adjustment status applications in Feb 2022.

The priority Date “Current” means no backlog or no wait time for a green card. A green card is available to you within the Employment-based VISA preference category.

Priority Dates: Generally, the priority date is the date when the immigrant petition is properly filed with USCIS.  In some instances, the priority date is when the labor certification application was accepted for processing by the Department of Labor.

Final Action Dates: Final action dates are based on both the green card category and the chargeability area- your country of origin.

For Foreign Nationals/Immigrants: If you are a Ph.D., Ph.D. student, Postdoc, or even a Master student, you can apply for a U.S. Green Card yourself (Self-Petition) under Extraordinary Ability Criteria (EB1-EA)

US Citizenship Act of 2021 Proposed Policy Changes

Big Hopes for Employment-Based Green Cards

Source : Fact Sheet- US Citizenship Act of 2021

The U.S. Government granted more than 139,000 employment-based green cards to foreign workers and their families. The Current U.S. administration’s proposed legislation could uplift the number of employment-based green cards, which are capped at about 140000 per year. The proposal would help permit the use of unused VISA slots from previous years and allow spouses and spouses and children of employment-based VISA holders to receive U.S. Lawful Permanent Residency without counting them against the annual cap.

These proposed U.S. immigration Policy Changes could help clear the large backlogs of Green Card applicants. This proposed legislation also would remove the per-country cap that restricts skilled immigrants from any single country to account for more than 7% of Green Cards issued each year.

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