OVERVIEW

The Department of State released the September 2023 Visa Bulletin. Most Employment-Based Categories will hold steady with the exception of EB-2 Worldwide and EB-3 China:

• USCIS will continue to accept employment-based Adjustment of Status applications based on Final Action Dates rather than the more advanced Dates for Filing chart.
• EB-1 cutoff dates will remain the same for all countries.
• EB-2 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) will advance by 3 months to July 1, 2022; all other EB-2 categories will hold steady.
• EB-3 China will advance by 3 months to September 1, 2019; EB-3 cutoff dates for all other countries will remain the same.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED (EB) PRIORITY DATE SUMMARY FOR FINAL ACTION DATES

USCIS confirmed that it will follow the Final Action Dates chart for purposes of eligibility to file an Adjustment of Status application.  The Final Action Dates are as follows:

EB-1, First Preference Category

• EB-1 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) cutoff dates remain at August 1, 2023.
• EB-1 China and India maintain a Final Action cut-off date of February 1, 2022 and January 1, 2012, respectively.

EB-2, Second Preference Category

• EB-2 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) advances by 3 months to July 1, 2022.
• China: Final Action dates hold steady at July 8, 2019.
• India:  Final Action dates hold steady at January 1, 2011.

EB-3, Third Preference Category (Professional and Skilled Workers)

• EB-3 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) maintain a cutoff date of May 1, 2020.
• China: Final Action Dates advance by 3 months to September 1, 2019.
• India: Final Action Dates hold steady at January 1, 2009.

Other Workers

• All categories hold steady from last month:
  • EB-3 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) maintain a cutoff date May 1, 2020
  • China: September 1, 2015
  • India: January 1, 2009

EB-5: Fifth Preference Category (Immigrant Investors)

• For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), India and China maintain a cutoff date of April 1, 2017 and September 8, 2015, respectively. All other countries will remain current.
• The EB-5 “Set-Aside” categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.

Individuals with a priority date that is either “current” or before the published cut-off date may file an adjustment of status application based on the dates outlined above.

WHAT SHOULD EMPLOYERS EXPECT?  

As noted in the September Visa Bulletin, number use by USCIS and the Department of State has been steady during the fiscal year. As a result, most employment-based preference category limits and/or the overall employment-based preference limit for FY 2023 are expected to be reached during September. If at any time an annual limit is reached, the preference category would immediately be made “unavailable”, and no further requests for immigrant visas would be honored. It is likely that many individuals will be required to wait for the commencement of the new fiscal year when green card allocation resets in order to receive their green card, which will begin on October 1, 2023.

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