The September 2023 visa bulletin has been issued by the Department of State, marking the final month before the new fiscal year in October. This bulletin serves as a overview of available immigrant visas for both consular processing and adjustment of status applications throughout September 2023. Within this bulletin, the Department of State presents key information: the Final Action Dates and the Date of Filing Applications pertaining to both Employment-Based and Family-Based immigrant visas. The determination of which chart Applicants should utilize for their Adjustment of Status Application (AOS) is confirmed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS has affirmed that they will accept Employment-Based cases according to the Final Action Date chart. For Family-Based cases, they will accept applications based on the Date of Filing Chart, mirroring the previous month’s policy. Below we break down the movement observed in the September 2023 visa bulletin.
Employment-Based Visas
The visa number used by USCIS and Department of State has been steady in the FY 2023. As we are coming to the end of the year in September 2023, most Employment-Based (EB) preference category limits and overall, employment-based visas available are projected to be reached this month. In addition to the September visa availabilities, the State Department has provided the immigrant visa numerical limitation for the fiscal year in this month’s bulletin. The Department reports that the FY 2023 worldwide EB preference limit is 197,071. As the impact of the COVID pandemic ends, we are returning to pre-pandemic levels of visa availability. To compare this year’s employment-based visa limit, in FY 2022 the number was 281,507, the highest thus far while we saw 262, 288 (FY 2021), and 156,253 (FY 2020). As a result of the steady use of visa numbers this fiscal year, the agency notes most EB preference category limits and/or the overall FY 2023 limit may be reached before the end of September 2023. The Department of State emphasizes if at anytime before the end of September, the annual limit has been reached for any of the preference categories, they will immediately make the preference category “unavailable” and will stop accepting allocating visa numbers.
In the employment-based first preference category (EB-1), we see no movement from the dates in the August Visa Bulletin. The cutoff date for EB-1 for Chinese nationals is February 1, 2022, while for Indian nationals it remains at January 1, 2012. For the rest of the world, the cutoff date holds at August 1, 2023. As we recall, in the August 2023 visa bulletin, the Department noted the Final Action Dates for EB-1 India will advance to at least the date we saw in July 2023 Visa Bulletin which was February 1, 2022. This estimate is dependent on the demand in category of course. The agency also mentioned in the August Visa Bulletin, the EB-1 Final Action Dates for the rest of the world except India and China are expected to return to “current” in the October 2023 visa bulletin.
In the EB-2 category, we see a slight movement for the rest of the world excluding China and India. The EB-2 cutoff date for India remains January 1, 2011, and for China the cutoff date holds at July 8, 2019. For the rest of the world, the cutoff date advances by three months, to July 1, 2022.
In the EB-3 Professional/Skilled Worker category, we also see a slight bit of advancement for China. The cutoff date for China advances by three months to September 1, 2019. For India the cutoff dates remain at January 1, 2009, and for the rest of the world, the detains hold at May 1, 2020.
Family-Based Visas
In the Family-Based categories, the trend of Employment-Based charts continues. We see retrogression along with some advancements in the August 2023 visa bulletin, as summarized below.
Under the F-1 category (unmarried children (age 21 and older) of U.S. citizens) remain the same in the August 2023 Visa Bulletin. The Final Action cutoff date for China, India, and remain at January 1, 2015. For Mexican nationals, the cutoff dates hold at April 22, 2001. Lastly for the Philippines, the dates remain at March 1, 2012.
In the F-2A Family-Based category (Spouses and Unmarried Children (Under Age 21) for China, India, Philippines, and Rest of the World, the Final Action Dates advance to January 1, 2018. by almost Again, in this category for Mexican nationals the cutoff dates remain at September 1, 2016. In the F2B (Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents) the cutoff dates for China, India and the rest of the world holds at September 22, 2015. While the cutoff date for Mexico is August 1, 2001, and for the Philippines it is October 22, 2011. In the F-3 category (married children of U.S. citizens). The dates for China, India, and the Rest of the World the cutoff dates remain at January 8, 2009. The dates for Mexico and Philippines remain the same at January 15, 1998, and June 8, 2002, respectively. In the F4 category, the cutoff dates for China and the rest of the world holds at April 22, 2007. While the cutoff date for India is September 15, 2005, Mexico’s dates are at August 1, 2000, and lastly the Philippine’s dates are August 22, 2002.
The dates we see in the September 2023 visa bulletin are the same as we saw in the August 2023 visa bulletin except the advancement we see in the F2A category. In the F2A category, in the Date of Filing Chart, we see for the first time in long time a cutoff date of September 1, 2023. Therefore, spouses and children of Green Card holders cannot file concurrent I-130, Petition for Alien Relative and an Adjustment of Status application (I-485) in September. Lastly, like EB cases, the Department of State provided the numerical limitation for the current fiscal year for Family-Based visas to 226,000. Unlike the Employment-Based visa limit, we saw the same numerical limitation in previous fiscal years.
We continue to monitor and report predictions and movements observed in 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 and are with you every step of the way.