United States: April 2023 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 Retrogresses for All Countries Except China; EB-3 China Advances; USCIS to Accept Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Based on Final Action Dates
March 22, 2023
Country / Territory
Share
At a glance
- In April, USCIS will return to accepting adjustment of status applications based on the Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates chart, rather than the more generous Dates for Filing chart that it had been using the past several months.
- Next month, EB-1 India and China will maintain their Final Action cutoff date of February 1, 2022.
- The EB-2 Worldwide Final Action date will retrogress by four months, to July 1, 2022.
- The EB-2 India Final Action date will retrogress by eight months, to January 1, 2011, and the EB-2 China Final Action date will remain at June 8, 2019.
- The EB-3 India Professional/Skilled Worker Final Action date will remain at June 15, 2012, and the EB-3 China Professional/Skilled Worker category will advance by three months, to November 1, 2018.
A closer look
USCIS has announced that next month it will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications with priority dates that are earlier than the Final Action Dates chart in the State Department’s April Visa Bulletin. This follows several months of the agency accepting adjustment of status applications according to the more generous Filing Dates chart.
According to the April Visa Bulletin, Final Action cutoff dates for issuance of an immigrant visa and for filing or approval of an adjustment of status application will be as follows:
- EB-1: All countries will remain current, except for India and China, which will have a cutoff date of February 1, 2022.
- EB-2: India will retrogress by eight months, to January 1, 2011. China will remain at June 8, 2019. All other countries will retrogress by four months, to July 1, 2022.
- EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: India will remain at June 15, 2012, and China will advance by three months, to November 1, 2018. All other countries will remain current.
- EB-5: For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), the China and India cutoff dates will remain at July 8, 2015 and June 1, 2018, respectively, and all other countries will remain current. The EB-5 “Set-Aside” categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.
EB-2 retrogression for all countries except China
As predicted in the March Visa Bulletin, due to increased demand, the State Department has further retrogressed the EB-2 final action dates for all countries except China in the April Visa Bulletin, in order to keep immigrant visa number use within the FY 2023 annual limit.
While the March Visa Bulletin indicated that it may also be necessary to impose a Final Action date on EB-3 worldwide countries, the April Visa Bulletin does not repeat that prediction. However, the State Department is continually monitoring and adjusting Visa Bulletin cutoff dates, and further retrogressions in EB-2 and EB-3 cannot be ruled out.
Final Action Dates for April 2023
EB-1
China: February 1, 2022
India: February 1, 2022
All other countries: Current
EB-2
China: June 8, 2019
India: January 1, 2011
All other countries: July 1, 2022
EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
China: November 1, 2018
India: June 15, 2012
All other countries: Current
EB-3 Other Workers
China: October 1, 2014
India: June 15, 2012
All other countries: January 1, 2020
EB-4
All countries: September 1, 2018
EB-5 Unreserved (Regional Center and Non-Regional Center)
China: July 8, 2015
India: June 1, 2018
All other countries: Current
EB-5 Set-Asides
Rural: Current for all countries
High Unemployment: Current for all countries
Infrastructure: Current for all countries
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.
