Tuesday 19 September 2023

Overview
The Visa Bulletin is issued by the Department of State every month and summarizes the availability of US immigrant visas, providing updates on how many immigrant visas have been issued and how many remain available. Importantly, the Visa Bulletin indicates when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to move forward with assembling and submitting their applications based on when their I-130 or I-140 petitions were originally filed, which starts the US immigrant process.

The number of immigrant visas that can be issued is capped by Congress across the employment-based, family-based, and diversity lottery categories with further country caps that limit the number issued to citizens of each country. No one country may be issued more than seven percent of immigrant visas available in any category. Due to these caps, there are typically significant backlogs for countries with large populations for which demand for US immigrant visas far exceeds the number of immigrant visas available, i.e., for China, India, and Mexico.

Update
Key highlights of the October Visa Bulletin include: The EB-1 Final Action Date will return to being current, meaning there will be no backlog and no wait time, for applicants from all countries except India and China, and the EB-2 Final Action Date will advance by one week for all countries except India and China. The EB-1 Final Action Date will advance significantly for India, and slightly for China.

USCIS also announced that it will accept adjustment of status applications based on the “Dates for Filing” chart in October. As background, every month the agency announces whether applicants should file their adjustment of status applications based on the “Final Action Dates” or “Dates for Filing” dates. Unless otherwise stipulated, individuals must use the “Final Action Dates” however, when there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are applicants USCIS instructs applicants to instead use the “Dates for Filing.” In October, USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from immigrants with a priority date that is earlier than the “Dates for Filing” chart listed in the State Department’s October 2023 Visa Bulletin.

If you are in line for an immigrant visa, it is critical to keep track of changes to the Visa Bulletin. By not filing in a month when an immigrant visa is available for you, you risk encountering backward movement or “retrogression” in the next bulletin and missing your opportunity for filing.

For assistance in determining whether your priority date is current or for further information, contact your Laura Devine Immigration attorney or enquiries@lauradevine.com.