The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the Monthly Visa Bulletin for September 2022 revealing no movement on both the “Dates for Filing” and “Final Action Dates” charts for most categories. Only the EB-5 Unreserved category for individuals born in China (PRC) showed any movement, and that movement was only slightly forward.
 
Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates remain current in the EB-1 category for all countries of birth and in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories for all countries of birth except China and India. Backlogs in the Final Action Dates remain in the “Other Workers” category for all countries of birth.
 
The EB-5 Unreserved category for individuals born in China showed very modest movement from the August Visa Bulletin. All other EB-5 categories and countries of birth are current on the Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates.
 
The DOS did note that it expected to reach most “employment-based preference category limits and/or the overall employment-based preference limit” for the current fiscal year in September. Once the limit is reached for a given preference category, it will immediately become “unavailable.”
 
USCIS has confirmed on its website that beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant petitions should use the Final Action Dates to determine eligibility to file adjustment of status (“green card”) applications.

Please review the chart here for the changes in the September 2022 Visa Bulletin relative to the August 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.