The Department of State released the April 2022 visa bulletin. The visa bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant visas both for consular processing and adjustment of status applications to be filled in April. The State Department releases both the Final Action Dates and Date of Filing Application for Employment-Based and Family-Based immigrant visas. For filing Adjustment of Status (AOS) within the United States, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed dates. USCIS announced a one-year advancement for EB-2 for India, but few other updates. Below is the breakdown of the movements in the April 2022 visa bulletin.

Employment-Based Cases

Again, in April 2022, the Final Action Dates chart for Employment-Based cases has little to no movement. The movement we see is in the EB-2 category for Indian nationals. The dates moved from May 1, 2013, to July 8, 2013, for the April Visa Bulletin. This modest two-month movement is an indication more visas are being used under the second employment-based category (workers with advanced degrees or of exceptional ability). USCIS has been encouraging applicants to transfer the underlying basis of their AOS application from EB-3 to EB-2 and EB-1 because the overall employment-based annual limit for the fiscal year 2022 is approximately double the usual amount due to the unused family-sponsored visa numbers from the fiscal year 2021. The modest movement for Indian nationals in April 2022 shows many Indians are taking advantage of the visas under EB-2. The rest of the categories have stayed the same in April 2022 visa bulletin as the March visa bulletin.

The Date of Filing chart for Employment-Based preference categories is stagnant, with the exception of strong movement for Indian nationals in the EB-2 category. The dates have moved from September 1, 2013, to September 1, 2014, in April 2022. USCIS will use the Date of Filing Chart to accept AOS applications. This is significant movement of one year. This is in line with the above, with more visas available under EB-2 and EB-1 categories compared to EB-3. There is no movement in EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 categories for all countries, including India and China, except as mentioned. We predict the lack of movement in all but one category in the Date of Filing Chart may be an indication USCIS will use the Date of Filing chart to accept AOS applications. This would be unprecedented because this would be the longest period USCIS utilizes the Date of Filing Chart to accept cases.

 

Family-Based Cases

In the Final Action Date chart for Family-Sponsored cases, we see no movement from March to April 2022 visa bulletin for all but Mexican nationals. For Mexican nationals under the F1 (Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens) category, the dates moved from September 9, 1999, to January 1, 2000. For the F2B (Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents) category, the dates advanced from September 1, 2000, to January 1, 2001. Lastly, in the F4 (Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens) category, the dates advanced from April 22, 1999, to January 1, 2020, in the April 2022 visa bulletin. All the dates for other nationals remain the same in all categories. For the F2A (Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents) category, the visas continue to be readily available for nationals. Once again, consular processing cases abroad are still not back to the pre-pandemic level, as seen by the lack of movement in the dates.

For the Date of Filing for Family-Sponsored cases, there is a slight movement in some categories, while the rest remains largely the same as April 2022 visa bulletin. Across the board, for all countries in the F2A category, the State Department has updated to “C” showing visa is available for filing. For Mexican nationals in the F1 (Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens) category advanced from April 1, 2001, to May 1, 2001. While in the F4 category, the dates advanced from September 1, 2000, to December 22, 2000. For Indian nationals in the F4 category, the dates advanced from January 2, 2006, to February 22, 2006. In the same category for Filipino nationals, the date moved from February 1, 2004, to April 22, 2004. Lastly, for Filipino nationals in the F3 category, the dates advanced by one month from October 1, 2003, to November 8, 2003.

USCIS released the AOS applications chart information, with strong advancement for EB-3, India. If you think you qualify, contact us. We are here to help. We continue to monitor and report predictions and movements related to the monthly visa bulletin. If you have questions regarding your priority date, please feel free to contact us. We put our extensive experience and expertise to work for you to ensure you get the right advice.

April Visa Bulletin Visa Bulletin