The Department of State released the January 2023 visa bulletin. The visa bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant visas both for consular processing and adjustment of status applications to be filled in January 2023. The State Department releases both the Final Action Dates and Date of Filing Applications for Employment-Based and Family-Based immigrant visas. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirms which chart Applicants must use to file their Adjustment of Status Application (AOS). Below, we break down the movement seen in the January 2023 visa bulletin.

Employment-Based Cases

As was projected in December 2022, the Department of State established a cutoff date for the employment-based first preference category, EB-1, for Applicants from India and China. Indian and Chinese EB-1 Applicants will be subject to the Final Action Date of February 1, 2022, and the Application Filing Date of June 1, 2022.

There was no movement in the EB-2 category. The State Department kept its cutoff date for EB-2 applicants from all countries of chargeability, except India and China, as November 1, 2022 (Final Action Date) and December 1, 2022 (Application Filing Date). For EB-2 India, the Final Action cutoff date remained on October 8, 2011, and the Application Filing Date on May 1, 2012. EB-2 China also saw no movement in January 2023; with the Final Action Date and Application Filing Date still being listed as June 8, 2019, and July 8, 2019, respectively.

There was little-to-no movement in the EB-3 category in the January 2023 visa bulletin. For India, the Final Action Date remained on June 15, 2012, and the Application Filing Date on August 1, 2012. For China, the Final Action Date remained on August 1, 2018, and the Application Filing Date on September 1, 2018. For the rest of the world, visas continue to be immediately available in EB-3.

For EB-3 Other Workers from China, the Final Action Date did move slightly, from June 22, 2013, to December 22, 2013. However, the Application Filing Date for this Category remained unchanged on November 1, 2015.

Family-Based Cases

There is still no movement in either the Final Action Date Chart or the Application Filing Date Chart for Family-Sponsored cases in January 2023. The dates continued to remain unchanged from the November 2022 visa bulletin. The lack of movement indicates that the U.S. embassies and consulates continue their work clearing the backlogs created by COVID-19.

We continue to monitor and report predictions and movements related to the monthly visa bulletin. If you have questions regarding your priority date, please feel free to contact us. We put our extensive experience and expertise to work for you to ensure you get the proper guidance. We’re with you every step of the way.