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.
Family-based preference All countries except those listed CHINA INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 
F1 08OCT14 22OCT14 22OCT14 01ABR98 01FEB12
F2A C C C C C
F2B 15AGO15 15AGO15 15AGO15 15AUG99 15SEP11
F3 22 AUG08 22 AUG08 22 AUG08 15OCT96 01MAY02
F4 08NOV06 08NOV06 15ABR05 08AGO98 01MAY02

Dates for submitting family-based case applications

Family-based preference All countries except those listed CHINA INDIA MÉXICO PHILIPPINES
F1 01OCT15 01OCT15 01OCT15 01MAR00 01NOV13
F2A 01ABR21 01ABR21 01ABR21 01ABR21 01ABR21
F2B 22JUN16 22JUN16 22JUN16 08AGO00 08JAN13
F3 22JUN09 22JUN09 22JUN09 08SEP00 01JUL03
F4 01OCT07 01OCT07 01DEC05 08MAY99 01JUL03

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.
Category based on employment All countries except those listed CHINA EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES VIETNAM
1st C C C C C C C
2nd C 01DEC16 C 01AUG10 C C C
3rd C 15MAY18 C 01FEB11 C C C
Other Workers C 01AUG09 C 01FEB11 C C C
4th C C 01SEP18 C 15MAR19 C C
Certain Religious Workers C C 01SEP18 C 15MAR19 C C
5th Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) C 15AGO15 C C C C 15FEB18
5th Regional Center (I5 and R5) C 15AGO15 C C C C 15FEB18

Dates for submitting applications for employment-based cases

Category based on employment All countries except those listed CHINA EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
1st C C C C C C
2nd C 01JUL17 C 15MAY11 C C
3rd C 01SEP18 C 01JAN14 C C
Other Workers C 01NOV09 C 01JAN14 C C
4th C C 01NOV18 C C C
Certain Religious Workers C C 01NOV18 C C C
5th Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) C 15DEC15 C C C C
5th Regional Center (I5 and R5) C 15DEC15 C C C C

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.

Region All areas except listings  
AFRICA 34,000 Except: Egypt 17,000
ASIA 13,000 Except: Iran 6,000 Nepal 5,100
EUROPE 18,000  
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) 8  
OCEANIA 1,400  
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN 1,650  

 

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