The Department of State released the much-awaited October 2022 visa bulletin, the first visa bulletin for the fiscal year 2023. The visa bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant visas both for consular processing and adjustment of status applications to be filled in October 2022. The State Department releases both the Final Action Dates and Date of Filing Application for Employment-Based and Family-Based immigrant visas. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed which chart Applicants must use to file their Adjustment of Status Application (AOS). Below is the breakdown of the movements in the October 2022 visa bulletin.

Employment-Based Cases

The October Visa Bulletin for the Final Action Dates Chart for Employment-Based (EB) had some unpleasant surprises. The Final Action Date for the EB-1 category stayed current for all countries, including India and China. In the EB-2 category, we see the biggest movement. For Final Action Dates for Indian citizens, the dates retrogressed from December 1, 2014 in the September 2022 visa bulletin to April 1, 2012, in the current October 2022 visa bulletin. This is a big retrogression for Indian nationals. The State Department explains in order to maximize the use of the unparallel high employment visas of 281,507 available in the fiscal year 2022, they established rapid forward movement of the India EB-2 category. This resulted in high demand for visas in this category. The visas available in the fiscal year 2023 are much lower than in the fiscal year 2022, thereby creating an imbalance in supply and demand. This resulted in the retrogression of visas available. We anticipate we will have a clearer picture as the State Department and USCIS monitor the available visas down the line in the fiscal year 2023. For Chinese citizens under the EB-2 preference category, the dates advanced by three months to July 8, 2019. For all other countries under the EB-2 category, the dates continue to be current.

In the EB-3 Professional/Skilled Workers preference category, we saw advancement in both Indian and Chinese nationals, while the rest of the world’s dates remained current. For Indian citizens, once again we saw a modest advancement from February 15, 2012, in the September 2022 visa bulletin to July 12, 2012, for the current October 2022 visa bulletin. For Chinese nationals, the dates advanced by approximately three months to July 15, 2018.

USCIS has confirmed, as expected, that Applicants may use the Dates of Filing Chart to file I-485, Adjustment of Status application, in October 2022. For the EB-2 Category, the cutoff date for Indian nationals is May 1, 2012, while for Chinese nationals it is July 08, 2019. All other countries are current. In the EB-3 Category, the cutoff date for Indian Nationals is July 1, 2012, and for Chinese nationals, the cutoff date is July 15, 2018. All other countries remain current.

 

Family-Based Cases

In the Final Action Date chart for Family-Sponsored cases, dates remain unchanged for the most part in the new fiscal year. For Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents, a visa continues to be immediately available, and the dates are listed as current for all countries. The lack of movement is an indication the U.S. embassies and consulates continue to work to clear the backlog created by COVID-19. The State Department is keeping the dates steady to allow the clearance of the backlog. In October 2022, USCIS is using the Date of Filing Chart to accept Family-Based AOS applications. Again, the Date of Filing Charts in October 2022 remain unchanged from the September 2022 visa bulletin. This is surprising since in October the new fiscal year commences with fresh visas available. This is an indication that the demand for visas is higher than the available visas in the new fiscal year.

The lack of movement in the Final Action Dates Chart in Chart Similar to the September 2022 visa bulletin, the October 2022 visa Final Action Dates Chart remains unchanged from the September 2022 visa bulletin. Both the final action dates chart as well as dates of filing remain unchanged. Although we will be commencing the new fiscal year, the State Department is keeping the dates steady to allow the clearance of the backlog. Embassies and Consulates abroad are working hard to clear the backlog created by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

ILBSG will continue to monitor and report predictions and movements related to the monthly visa bulletin. If you have any questions regarding your priority date, please reach out to an ILBSG attorney today.

October 2022 Visa Bulletin Visa Bulletin