Visa Bulletin May 2021

The May 2021 Visa Bulletin is now available. The new tables include dates for consular filing and final visa issuance action by U.S. embassies or consulates.

If you want to see the tables of the Visa Bulletin about Filing for Adjustment of Status (immigrant visa applications filed within the U.S.) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by May 2021 click here.

What is the May 2021 Visa Bulletin?

Each month, the U.S. Department of State (USDOS) publishes a report that specifies the availability and priority date of immigrant visas that are ready for processing and establishes the cut-off date after which visas will no longer be available for each visa category.

The Visa Bulletin lists the priority dates for applicants according to visa categories: family-based, employment-based, and diversity visa program (visa lottery). It also updates the dates for the various categories based on the immigrants' countries of origin, the number of visas that have been issued so far, and an estimate of visa demand.

The information in the Visa Bulletin may change from month to month. It is useful to find out how much of a delay there is for different types of immigrant visa applications.

This monthly report serves as a guide for issuing visas at U.S. consulates and embassies. USCIS also uses this guide to determine whether it can accept or adjudicate an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

If you are waiting your turn for a visa, the Visa Bulletin allows you to monitor the movement of deadlines to find out when your priority date is being processed.

How to Read the May 2021 Visa Bulletin Tables

The Department of State and USCIS publish two tables for each visa preference category with the following information:

Family or employment based cases

In sections where a "C" is marked, it means that the category is current, and applications may be filed regardless of the applicant's priority date.

Final Action Dates: dates on which immigrant visas can finally be issued.

Dates for Filing: earliest date a person can file an application for an immigrant visa.

Visa Bulletin May 2021

These are the tables of the Visa Bulletin for May 2021 of the U.S. Department of State published for cases based on the family, employment or the fiscal year 2021 visa lottery:

Final Action Dates for Family Based Case Requests

Types of Family Preference

• First preference (F1): unmarried children, over the age of twenty-one, of U.S. citizens.
• Second preference A (F2A): spouses of permanent residents and unmarried children, under the age of twenty-one, of permanent residents.
• Second preference B (F2B): unmarried children, over the age of twenty-one, of permanent residents.
• Third preference (F3): married children of U.S. citizens, their spouses and unmarried children under the age of twenty-one.
• Fourth preference (F4): siblings of U.S. citizens, their spouses and unmarried children under the age of twenty-one.

Dates for submitting family-based case applications

Final action dates for employment-based case applications

Types of Employment Preference:

• First preference (EB-1): priority workers.
• Second preference (EB-2): professionals with advanced degrees and persons of exceptional ability.
• Third preference (EB-3): skilled workers, professionals and unskilled workers.
• Fourth preference (EB-4): certain special immigrants.
• Fifth preference (EB-5): immigrant investors.

Dates for submitting applications for employment-based cases

Dates for submitting applications for FY 2021 visa lottery-based cases

How to read the table of cases based on the FY 2021 Diversity Visa Program (DV, visa lottery).

Below are the allocation cut-off numbers for diversity visas, based on region or eligible countries, for applicants who meet all requirements. When a maximum number is shown, it means that there are only visas available for DV applicants below the number specifically allocated in the region.

A person who "wins the lottery" is only entitled to receive immigrant status in the DV category until the end of the visa fiscal year for which he or she was selected. For all applicants registered in the 2021 visa lottery, that entitlement ends on September 30, 2021.

DV visas may not be issued to DV-2021 lottery participants after that date. This also applies to spouses and children of 2021 visa lottery winners, who are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2021.

There can be no guarantee that DV visas will be available until the end of fiscal year 2021, because they could be exhausted before September 30, 2021.