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September 2023 Visa Bulletin – Small Advances in EB-3 China and EB-2 All Other Countries; Other EB Categories in Holding Pattern Through Fiscal Year End

by: Suzan Kern of Hunton Andrews Kurth - Business Immigration Insights

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

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The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated.

Below is a summary of the September Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month.

China: EB-1 stalls at February 1, 2022; EB-2, at July 8, 2019; and EB-3 Other Workers, at September 1, 2015. Only EB-3 advances: 3 months, to September 1, 2019.

India: EB-1 holds at January 1, 2012; EB-2, at January 1, 2011; and EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers, at January 1, 2009.

All Other Countries: EB-1 halts at August 1, 2023; and EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers, at May 1, 2020. Only EB-2 advances: 3 months, to July 1, 2022.

NOTE 1: The September Visa Bulletin did not make additional predictions about visa availability in October, which is the starting month of the new fiscal year. The August Visa Bulletin, however, anticipated EB-1 All Other Countries would be current again in October and EB-1 India would advance to at least February 1, 2022, but cautioned the date is “dependent on the demand for EB-1 visas by Indian applicants and the FY-2024 annual limit on employment-based preference visas.”

NOTE 2: Speaking of annual limits, the September Visa Bulletin disclosed that the FY2023 worldwide family-sponsored preference limit was 226,000 and the worldwide employment-based preference limit was 197,091. This means a total of 423,091 immigrant visas were available during the current fiscal year, or 29,616 per country. As a reminder, by regulation, natives of any single country may claim no more than 7% of total available visa numbers each year, meaning the same number of visas are available to applicants from India or China (the countries with the greatest demand) as are available to applicants from Iceland or Chad. And, kids, that’s why we have backlogs!

NOTE 3: USCIS will accept I-485 applications in August based on Final Action Dates, not the more favorable Dates for Filing chart.