Foster LLP Immigration Update © | December 22, 2022

January 2023 Visa Bulletin – EB-1 Retrogression with Almost No Other Movement

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the Monthly Visa Bulletin for January 2023 revealing new backlogs in the EB-1 category for individuals born in China (PRC) and India, with almost no movement on both the “Dates for Filing” and “Final Action Dates” charts for all other categories.

Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates remain current in the EB-1 category for all countries of birth except China and India, which are now subject to moderate backlogs. Prior to the January Visa Bulletin, these categories had been current; however, the Dates for Filing are now June 1, 2022, and the Final Action Dates are now February 1, 2022. In the EB-2, EB-3, and “Other Workers” categories, there was no movement in either Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates for all countries of birth, with the lone exception of a six-month advancement of the Final Action Date in the “Other Workers” category for individuals born in China.

The EB-5 Unreserved category continues to show backlogs in the Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates for individuals born in China and India, but these backlogs remain unchanged from the December Visa Bulletin. All other EB-5 categories and countries of birth are current on the Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates.

USCIS has confirmed on its website that beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant petitions should use the Dates for Filing to determine eligibility to file adjustment of status (“green card”) applications.

The chart below indicates the changes in the January 2023 Visa Bulletin relative to the December 2022 Visa Bulletin:

Foster LLP will continue to track immigrant visa availability and provide updates about any developments via Immigration Updates©, articles, and blogs on our website at www.fosterglobal.com.