The Department of State released the February 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 February 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 February 2023 visa bulletin.

Family-Based Cases

There was little-to-no movement for Family-Sponsored cases in February 2023. The only movement was in the F1 category for Mexico (Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens). For F1 Mexico, the Final Action Date moved forward slightly, from November 15, 2000, to April 1, 2001. However, the Application Filing Date for this category remained unchanged at December 1, 2002.

While the F2A category remained Current across all areas of chargeability in February 2023, the State Department noted that the steady use of F2A visa numbers this fiscal year may necessitate establishing a final action date as soon as March 2023 to keep visa number use within the annual limit.

Apart from the slight movement in F1 Mexico explained above, the February 2023 visa bulletin mirrors that of November 2022. The continued lack of movement indicates that the U.S. embassies and consulates are still working to clear the backlogs created by COVID-19.

Employment-Based Cases

The visa bulletin shows little movement in February 2023 for Employment-Based cases. Most notably, there was worldwide retrogression in the employment-based third preference “Other Workers” (EB-3 EW) category in both the Final Action Dates chart and the Application Filing Dates chart. Except for India and China, the Final Action Date retrogressed from June 1, 2020, to January 1, 2020. Similarly, the Application Filing Date retrogressed from September 8, 2022, to February 1, 2020. The Final Action Dates for EB-3 EW from China and India remains unchanged at December 22, 2013, and June 15, 2012, respectively.

For EB-1, all areas except China and India remain current. Indian and Chinese EB-1 Applicants continue to be subject to the Final Action Date of February 1, 2022, and the Application Filing Date of June 1, 2022.

There was still no movement in the EB-2 category in February 2023. 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 at October 8, 2011, and the Application Filing Date at May 1, 2012. EB-2 China also saw no movement in February 2023; with the Final Action Date and Application Filing Date still being listed as June 8, 2019, and July 8, 2019, respectively.

Apart from the retrogression in the EB-3 EW category, there was no movement in the rest of the EB-3 category in February 2023. For India, the Final Action Date remained at June 15, 2012 and the Application Filing Date at August 1, 2012. For China, the Final Action Date remained at August 1, 2018, and the Application Filing Date at September 1, 2018. For the rest of the world, visas continue to be immediately available in EB-3, not including the Other Workers (EW) category as explained above.

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 in this together.