July 2018 Visa Bulletin

D. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT (SI) TRANSLATOR CATEGORY VISA AVAILABILITY

Given the limited availability of visa numbers and the existing demand, the Department expects to reach the FY-2018 annual limit of 50 Special Immigrant Visas in the SI category early this year. As a result, it has been necessary to maintain a July Final Action Date of April 22, 2012. It is likely that number use will require the SI category to become “unavailable” in the coming months. Once the annual limit of 50 visas is reached, further issuances in the SI category will not be possible until October 2018, under the FY-2019 annual limit. The SQ Special Immigrant Visa category for certain Iraqi and Afghan nationals employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq or Afghanistan is not affected and remains current.

E. RETROGRESSION OF JULY EMPLOYMENT-BASED FINAL ACTION DATES

MEXICO E4 and SR: As readers were advised in item E of the June Visa Bulletin, it has been necessary to retrogress the July Final Action Dates in an effort to hold worldwide number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2018 annual limits.

The Mexico E4 and SR dates will return to October 22, 2016 for October, the first month of fiscal year 2019.

CHINA E3: There has been an extremely large increase in Employment Third preference applicant demand during the past two months. This is due to the “downgrading” of status by applicants who had originally filed in the Employment Second preference. As a result, it has been necessary to retrogress the July Final Action Date to January 1, 2013 in an effort to hold number use within the FY-2018 per-country limit.

The China E3 date will return to June 1, 2015 for October, the first month of fiscal year 2019.

F. EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA AVAILABILTY IN THE COMING MONTHS

In recent weeks there has been a steadily increasing level of Employment-based demand for adjustment of status cases filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A continuation of the current demand pattern would result in a temporary establishment or retrogression of some final action dates in an effort to hold number use within the FY-2018 annual limits.

Should such action be required, there would be a full recovery in the preference category for October, the first month of fiscal year 2019.