Visa Bulletin of July 2023 with Jacob Sapochnick

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In this video, and just like every month we cover the movement in the family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories of the July 2023 Visa Bulletin.

We are seeing some big advancements in the family-sponsored categories next month, as well as some retrogressions in the final action dates for the employment based third preference category (EB-3) for all countries except China.

Before we jump into our analysis, let’s first go over some of the highlights of the July 2023 Visa Bulletin starting with the family-sponsored categories.

Family-sponsored categories Highlights

*Dates for Filing cutoff dates – Advancements in July:

  • F-1 Mexico will advance by 1 month
  • F-1 China, India, World will advance by 8 months
  • F2B Mexico will advance by 3 months
  • F3 China, India, World will advance by 3 weeks
  • F4 China and World will advance by 1 month
  • F4 Mexico will advance by 2 weeks

Final Action cutoff dates – Advancements in July:

  • F1 Mexico will advance by 3 weeks
  • F2B Mexico will advance by 2 months
  • F3 China, India, World will advance by 2 weeks
  • F3 Mexico will advance by 2.5 months
  • F4 China and World will advance by 2 weeks

Employment-based categories Highlights

  • EB-3 India’s final action cutoff will retrogress by more than 3.5 years to January 1, 2009
  • EB-3 final action cutoff dates will retrogress for all other countries except China by 4 months to February 1, 2022
  • EB-1, EB-2, and EB-5 final action cutoff dates will remain the same in July as before
  • Dates for Filing cutoff dates in the employment-based categories remain the same as June

The reason why we are seeing such advancements in the family-sponsored categories is because Embassies and Consulates are starting to schedule more interview appointments, causing a shift in the movement in the Visa Bulletin. Most Consular posts and Embassies overseas are working normally. While some are facing more demand than others, they continue to work through the visa backlogs to process more cases and schedule more interview appointments. We are beginning to see this shift reflected in the National Visa Center (NVC) processing times as well which we have covered in previous videos.

On the other hand, we are seeing a negative impact on the employment-based categories because demand for these categories remains very high. For the EB-3 category for instance no visas are available for Indian nationals because all visa numbers have already been used by applicants chargeable to India for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Adjustment of Status: Which Filing Chart to Use?

To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment of status application in July 2023, foreign nationals must have priority dates that are earlier than the Final Action Dates chart of the Department of State’s May Visa Bulletin.

Family-sponsored applicants currently residing in the United States, may file for adjustment of status once their priority dates become current, following the Dates for Filing chart according to the adjustment of status filing guidance published by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

For more information, please see the adjustment of status filing guidance on the USCIS webpage here.

Now let’s jump into our analysis of the Visa Bulletin starting with the employment-based final action cutoff dates.

 Employment-Based Categories

FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES

According to the Department of State’s July 2023 Visa Bulletin, the following Final Action cutoff dates will apply for employment-based categories, which will determine whether an adjustment of status application can be filed with USCIS in July:

  • 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 remain at January 1, 2011. China will remain at June 8, 2019. All other countries will remain at February 15, 2022
  • EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: India will retrogress by 3.5 years to January 1, 2009, and China will remain at April 1, 2019. All other countries will retrogress by four months to February 1, 2022.
  • EB-3 Other Workers: India will retrogress by 3.5 years to January 1, 2009, China will remain at September 1, 2015. All other countries will remain at January 1, 2020.
  • EB-4: All countries will remain at September 1, 2018.
  • EB-5: For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), China will remain at September 8, 2015, and India will remain at April 1, 2017. All other countries will remain current. The EB-5 “Set-Aside” categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.
Employment-
based		 All Chargeability
Areas Except
Those Listed		 CHINA-
mainland
born		 INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
1st C 01FEB22 01FEB22 C C
2nd 15FEB22 08JUN19 01JAN11 15FEB22 15FEB22
3rd 01FEB22 01APR19 01JAN09 01FEB22 01FEB22
Other Workers 01JAN20 01SEP15 01JAN09 01JAN20 01JAN20
4th 01SEP18 01SEP18 01SEP18 01SEP18 01SEP18
Certain Religious Workers 01SEP18 01SEP18 01SEP18 01SEP18 01SEP18
5th Unreserved
(including C5, T5, I5, R5)		 C 08SEP15 01APR17 C C
5th Set Aside:
Rural (20%)		 C C C C C
5th Set Aside:
High Unemployment (10%)		 C C C C C
5th Set Aside:
Infrastructure (2%)		 C C C C C

FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES

According to the Department of State’s July 2023 Visa Bulletin, the following Final Action cutoff dates will apply for family-sponsored categories:

Family-
Sponsored 		 All Chargeability
Areas Except
Those Listed		 CHINA-mainland
born		 INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 
F1 15DEC14 15DEC14 15DEC14 22APR01 01MAR12
F2A 08SEP20 08SEP20 08SEP20 01NOV18 08SEP20
F2B 22SEP15 22SEP15 22SEP15 01AUG01 22OCT11
F3 22DEC08 22DEC08 22DEC08 15JAN98 08JUN02
F4 22APR07 22APR07 15SEP05 01AUG00

Final Action Dates July 2023

F-1 Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens

  • China, India, World: December 15, 2014
  • Mexico: April 22, 2001* advancement
  • Philippines: March 1, 2012

F-2A Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents

  • China, India, World: September 8, 2020
  • Mexico: November 1, 2018
  • Philippines: September 8, 2020

F-2B Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents

  • China, India, World: September 22, 2015
  • Mexico: August 1, 2001* advancement
  • Philippines: October 22, 2011

F3 Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens

  • China, India, World: December 22, 2008* advancement
  • Mexico: January 15, 1998* advancement
  • Philippines: June 8, 2002

F-4 Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens

  • China, World: April 22, 2007* advancement
  • India: September 15, 2005
  • Mexico: August 1, 2000
  • Philippines: August 22, 2002

Conclusion

As you can see the July 2023 Visa Bulletin has some good news for family-sponsored categories with rapid movement in the Dates for Filing Chart of 8 months for the F-1 China, India, World category, and some retrogression in the employment-based categories as well. As the fiscal year comes to an end in October, we hope to continue to see interesting movement in the family-sponsored categories.

As always, we will continue to monitor the trends and progressions of the Visa Bulletin and report them right here on our blog.

Contact Us Today. We hope that this information was helpful. If you have any further questions or would like to schedule a consultation, please text 619-483-4549 or call 619-819-9204

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