The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the monthly Visa Bulletin for September 2023 revealing modest forward movement in a few categories, but most categories remain unchanged.

As explained in the prior month’s Visa Bulletin Immigration Update, the Final Action Dates in the EB-1 category are backlogged for all countries of birth. These backlogs did not change from the prior month. Final Action Dates in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories either remained the same or moved forward modestly. Final Action Dates in the Other Workers category showed no changes. Dates for Filing for most categories and countries of birth remained unchanged, though there was some modest forward movement two categories.

In the August 2023 Visa Bulletin, the DOS explained its belief that upon the beginning of the new fiscal year in October 2023, the Final Action Date for the EB-1 India category will revert to “at least the [date] announced in the July Visa Bulletin” (which was February 1, 2022), but it cannot guarantee this will occur given the uncertainty regarding visa demand and availability.

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 the dates remain unchanged from the August Visa Bulletin. All other EB-5 categories and countries of birth are current on both the Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates.

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.

The chart below indicates the changes in the September 2023 Visa Bulletin relative to the August 2023 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.