According to the State Department August Visa Bulletin, the Employment Based First Preference Category (EB-1) Final Action Dates for "Priority Workers" will retrogress for the month of August 2018. Priority Workers include Persons of Extraordinary Ability (EB-1A), Outstanding Professors and Researchers (EB-1B), and Multinational Executives and Managers (EB-1C).

The Worldwide EB-1 Priority Date will retrogress to May 1, 2016. The China and India EB-1 Priority Dates will retrogress to January 1, 2012. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Philippines, and Viet Nam will retrogress to May 1, 2016.

The retrogression of the EB-1 Priority Dates reflects the heavy demand for immigrant visas under the EB-1 category that USCIS is currently experiencing.

We do not expect the EB-1 Final Action Priority Dates to change for the remainder of the fiscal year. We are hopeful that the Worldwide EB-1 Priority Date will become "current" again at the start of the new fiscal year for USCIS in October or November of 2018.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.