Articles Posted in April Visa Bulletin

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If you are an EB-2 or EB-3 visa holder waiting for your priority date to become current, you have already heard that in April the final action dates will become current for all countries except India and China.

This means that starting April 1st most individuals residing in the United States will be eligible to file their adjustment of status applications for permanent residence. As part of this process, applicants may file an application for temporary work authorization (Form I-765) or travel authorization (Form I-131). Once your green card application is filed with USCIS, you will not be able to travel abroad unless you have a valid, approved travel permit issued by USCIS.

Gathering Important Documents

Before filing, gather these six documents to avoid delays, minimize RFEs, and be ready to submit your green card application in April before your window of opportunity closes.

#1 Birth Documentation

Green card applicants must submit a birth certificate to USCIS or the National Visa Center that includes their full name, date and place of birth, parents’ names, and an official seal. If the document is not in English, a certified translation is required. You must also bring the original or a certified copy to your interview, if scheduled.

If you do not already have your birth certificate, it is important to obtain it as soon as possible.

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the April 2026 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories next month.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of April, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for the employment-based and family-sponsored categories.

Highlights of the April 2026 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of April?

Employment-Based Categories

Final Action Advancements

EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives

  • EB-1 India and China will advance one month to April 1, 2023
  • All other countries will remain current

EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability

  • EB-2 India will advance 10 months to July 15, 2014
  • Except China, all other countries (Worldwide, Mexico, Philippines) will become current

*Note, there is an immigrant visa freeze for all countries subject to the 75-country ban on immigrant visa issuance. Lawsuits opposing the freeze are currently pending. 

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the April 2025 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of April.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will continue to use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of April.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will also continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of April.

Please click here for more information.

Highlights of the April 2025 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of April?

Employment-Based Categories

Dates for Filing Advancements

EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability

  • EB-2 India will advance by 1 month to February 1, 2013
  • EB-2 China will advance by 1 month to November 1, 2020

EB-3 Other Workers

  • EB-3 Worldwide, Mexico, and the Philippines will advance by 1 month to June 22, 2021

Final Action Advancements & Retrogressions

EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives

  • EB-1 India will advance by 2 weeks to February 15, 2022

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz6vWTjLjuQ

If you are going through the immigrant visa process and are waiting for your interview to be scheduled at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas, then you won’t want to miss this important video. Attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares the latest updates regarding the operational capacity of U.S. Consular posts and Embassies worldwide as of March 2024.

Overview

As the spring and summer months are approaching, U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide are accelerating the processing of immigrant visas to reduce the visa backlogs.

As we have seen, the Department of State has advanced the Final Action Dates for most employment-based categories in the April Visa Bulletin. Additionally, significant advancements were also made in the March Visa Bulletin for the family-sponsored categories.

These advancements will keep the Department of State busy in the coming months, as more and more immigrant visa cases that are documentarily complete are scheduled for interviews at U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide for those with current priority dates.

As our readers will know, during the height of the Coronavirus outbreak, there was an enormous demand for visa interviews, but not enough interview slots for applicants to be scheduled. But now things are improving.

As a reminder, please remember to tune into our monthly videos where we analyze the Visa Bulletin, explaining the availability of visas for family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories, numerical limitations, and how to know when your priority date is current during any given month.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick analyzes the April 2024 Visa Bulletin and discusses the significant movement in the employment based categories and modest movement in the family-sponsored preference categories for the month of April. We also discuss our predictions on what to expect from the Visa Bulletin in the coming months.

If you would like to know more about this topic, we invite you to watch our video.

Adjustment of Status Filing Chart April 2024

For the month of April 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will use the Dates for Filing chart for family-sponsored filings to determine eligibility for I-485 adjustment of status filings (green card filings inside the US).

For employment-based preference categories, USCIS will use the Final Action Dates chart to determine eligibility for I-485 adjustment of status filings (green card filings inside the US).

What Changes Can Be Seen Next Month?

Family-sponsored categories

Dates for Filing

The Dates for Filing chart remains unchanged from the previous month except for the following categories:

  • F4 India will advance by 1.5 months to April 8, 2006, and
  • F4 Philippines will advance by 1 year to April 22, 2005

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