Visa Bulletin December 2020 Predictions

For official November 2020 Visa Bulletin & Analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2020/visa-bulletin-november-2020.aspx

Please see December 2020 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based categories for all countries):

Family Based:

Final Action Dates

Dates For Filing Applications

"Final Action Date" is the date when when USCIS/DOS may render their final decision on submitted applications. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01NOV14	01NOV14	01NOV14	22JAN98	01APR12
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	08AUG15	08AUG15	08AUG15	01MAY99	01NOV11
F3	01JUL08	01JUL08	01JUL08	15AUG96	08JUN02
F4	15OCT06	15OCT06	22MAR05	08JUL98	15APR02

"Date for Filing Application" is the date when you can submit I-485/NVC applications to USCIS/DOS. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15SEP15	15SEP15	15SEP15	01MAR00	01FEB13
F2A	01SEP20	01SEP20	01SEP20	01SEP20	01SEP20
F2B	08JUN16	08JUN16	08JUN16	22DEC99	01JUL12
F3	08JUL09	08JUL09	08JUL09	22AUG00	01MAY03
F4	08OCT07	08OCT07	08DEC05	01MAY99	15DEC02

November 2020 Visa Bulletin Analysis

For November 2020 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2020/visa-bulletin-november-2020.aspx

Please see below analysis of November 2020 Visa Bulletin:

Family Based:

Final Action Dates

Dates For Filing Applications

"Final Action Date" is the date when when USCIS/DOS may render their final decision on submitted applications. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change
F2A	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change
F2B	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change
F3	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change
F4	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change

"Date for Filing Application" is the date when you can submit I-485/NVC applications to USCIS/DOS. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change
F2A	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change
F2B	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change
F3	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change
F4	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change

November 2020 Visa Bulletin

For October 2020 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2020/visa-bulletin-october-2020.aspx

For analysis of November 2020 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2020/visa-bulletin-analysis-november-2020.aspx

November 2020 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from November 1 to November 30 only). Please see below for more details.

Family Based:

Final Action Dates

Dates For Filing Applications

"Final Action Date" is the date when when USCIS/DOS may render their final decision on submitted applications. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15SEP14	15SEP14	15SEP14	08JAN98	15DEC11
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	08JUL15	08JUL15	08JUL15	08APR99	01AUG11
F3	15JUN08	15JUN08	15JUN08	01AUG96	15FEB02
F4	22SEP06	22SEP06	08MAR05	22JUN98	01JAN02

"Date for Filing Application" is the date when you can submit I-485/NVC applications to USCIS/DOS. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22JUL15	22JUL15	22JUL15	22FEB00	08OCT12
F2A	01AUG20	01AUG20	01AUG20	01AUG20	01AUG20
F2B	01MAY16	01MAY16	01MAY16	01DEC99	01APR12
F3	01JUN09	01JUN09	01JUN09	15AUG00	22DEC02
F4	15SEP07	15SEP07	22NOV05	22APR99	01SEP02

November 2020 Visa Bulletin Special Notes

For the official November 2020 Visa Bulletin and Analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2020/visa-bulletin-november-2020.aspx

Apart from posting current dates, State Department has also added special notes to Visa Bulletin mentioned above. Please see full details below:

D. 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

E. EXTENSION OF TWO EMPLOYMENT VISA CATEGORIES

Premium Processing Fee Increase Effective Oct. 19, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it will increase fees for premium processing, effective Oct. 19, as required by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, Pub. L. No. 116-159, signed into law on Oct. 1. The USCIS premium processing service allows petitioners to pay an additional filing fee to expedite the adjudication of certain forms, generally within 15 days. The Act included the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act, which requires USCIS to establish and collect additional premium processing fees, and to use those additional funds for expanded purposes.

Pub. L. No. 116-159 increases the fee for <a target='_blank' href="https

USCIS Updates Policy Guidance Regarding Temporary Protected Status and Eligibility for Adjustment of Status

USCIS today issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual clarifying whether temporary protected status (TPS) beneficiaries are eligible for adjustment of status under section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). INA 245(a) requires an alien to have been inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the United States, unless exempt from this requirement.

The updated guidance reaffirms USCIS' long-standing interpretation that an alien who enters the United States without having been inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled, and who is subsequently granted TPS, generally does not meet that requirement.

The updated guidance also incorporates Matter of Z-

USCIS Issues Policy Guidance Regarding Inadmissibility Based on Membership in a Totalitarian Party

On Oct. 2, USCIS issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address inadmissibility based on membership in or affiliation with the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party. Membership in or affiliation with the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party is inconsistent and incompatible with the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America, which includes pledging to "support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States."

The new policy manual section provides guidance on how to adjudicate inadmissibility due to membership in the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party in the context of adjustment of status applications.

In g

DHS Proposes Rule to Strengthen Affidavit of Support Process

Proposal enforces long-standing law and protects American taxpayers

WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security today announced it will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (PDF) that would increase the integrity of the nation's lawful immigration system, make it easier to hold immigrant sponsors accountable for failing to meet the obligations of contracts they sign with the federal government, and align agency policy in accordance with the May 2019 Presidential Memorandum o

Visa Bulletin Predictions November 2020 to January 2021

For latest Visa Bulletin and Analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/

USCIS/DOS has added their Visa bulletin prediction from November 2020 to January 2021.

Family-sponsored: Final Action Dates movement during the past six months focused on two goals: 1) to allow number use to be maximized should it become possible to return to normal visa processing levels at some point prior to the end of the fiscal year, and 2) to encourage applicants to continue acting on their cases in a timely manner to support long-term recovery from the suspension of routine services. This movement ensured sufficient demand would be available for adjudication throughout FY 2021 under a resumption of full operational status. 

VO learned during October 2020 date determination, that movement of final action dates in the previous six months combined with the global suspension of routine visa services resulted in enough accumulated demand to fully utilize the numbers normally made available during the first quarter of the fiscal year. Therefore, no date movement is required at this time. VO will closely monitor the situation in the early months of the fiscal year. 

Trump Administration Announces Overhaul of H-1B Visa Program

The Trump administration announced significant changes on Tuesday to the H-1B visa program for high-skilled workers, substantially raising the wages that U.S. companies must pay foreign hires and narrowing eligibility criteria for applicants.

The new rules are expected to reduce the pool of skilled labor and raise costs for tech companies and other employers. Critics say that could force companies to move some operations outside the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security acting deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli said a third of applicants would be denied under the new rules.

EB Category To Receive 121,500 Additional Visas From FB Category

Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000.

Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.

For fiscal year 2019 (which ended on September 30, 2019), only around 104,500 visas were allotted to family based visa petitions; instead of 226,000. This means about 121,500 visas were unused in the family based category.

According to law, any unused visas from family category will flow to employment based category. This means EB category will be getting an additional 121,500 visas in fiscal year 2020 (October 2020 to September 2021). This is almost double the annual visa allotment for EB Categories.

USCIS Response to Preliminary Injunction of Fee Rule

WASHINGTON-U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Deputy Director of Policy Joseph Edlow issued the following statement in response to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining fee increases for citizenship and other immigration benefits.

"This unfortunate decision leaves USCIS underfunded by millions of dollars each business day the fee rule is enjoined.  Unlike most government agencies, USCIS is fee funded.  As required by federal law, USCIS conducted a comprehensive biennial fee review and determined that current fees do not recover the cost of providing adjudication and naturalization services.  This is nothing new or abnormal.  In fact, the fee rule is two years behind schedule, and is a smaller percentage increase than the previous.  In a fee-funded agency such as USCIS, this