The Department of State released the July 2023 visa bulletin. The visa bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant visas both for consular processing and adjustment of status applications to be filled in July 2023. The State Department releases both the Final Action Dates and Date of Filing Applications for Employment-Based and Family-Based immigrant visas. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirms which chart Applicants must use to file their Adjustment of Status Application (AOS). Below, we break down the movement seen in the July 2023 visa bulletin.
Employment-Based Cases
For the employment-based first preference category (EB-1), all countries will remain current, except for India and China. For Indian and Chinese EB-1 Applicants, the cutoff date remains the same as we have seen over the past few months, at February 1, 2022.
In the EB-2 category, the dates remain unchanged from the June 2023 visa bulletin. We did not see the retrogression under the EB-2 category that was forecasted in the May 2023 visa bulletin this month. For the rest of the world, Mexico, and the Philippines, the Final Action cutoff dates remain at February 15, 2022. For India and China, the EB-2 dates remain at January 1, 2011, and June 8, 2019, respectively.
In the EB-3 category, we do see retrogression that the State Department warned about in the June 2023 visa bulletin. The only category without retrogression from the June 2023 visa bulletin is EB-3 China. For Chinese nationals, the cutoff date remains at April 1, 2019. For Indian nationals, the Final Action date for EB-3 retrogressed all the way back to January 1, 2009, with the State Department noting that it’s likely that all available EB-3 India visa numbers will be used by the end of this month due to the robust use during the past fiscal year. For the rest of the world, Mexico, and the Philippines, the dates retrogressed 4 months, to February 1, 2022, due to higher-than-expected demand from applicants with priority dates earlier than the final action dates listed. Despite these retrogressions in the Final Action dates chart, there was no movement in the Dates for Filing chart in the July 2023 visa bulletin for any country or preference category.
Family-Based Cases
In the Family-Based categories, we see very slight movements in the July 2023 visa bulletin, as summarized below.
Summary of the movement in the Final Action Dates chart for July 2023 (Family-Based):
- Under the F-1 category (unmarried children (age 21 and older) of U.S. citizens), the Final Action date for Mexican nationals moved forward 3 weeks, to April 22, 2001.
- The F-2B category (unmarried children (age 21 or older) of green card holders) for Mexican nationals moved forward 2 months, to August 1, 2001.
- Under the F-3 category (married children of U.S. citizens) for the rest of the world, China, and India, the Final Action cutoff date moved forward 2 weeks, to December 22, 2008. For Mexican nationals, the F-3 category moved forward 2 months and 2 weeks, to January 15, 1998.
- The F-4 category (siblings of U.S. citizens) for the rest of the world and China also moved forward 2 weeks, to April 22, 2007.
Summary of the movement in the Dates for Filing chart for July 2023 (Family-Based):
- The F-1 date for filing for the rest of the world, China, and India moved forward 8 months, to September 1, 2017. For Mexican nationals, it moved forward 1 month, to January 1, 2003.
- The F-2B date for filing for Mexico moved forward 3 months, to April 1, 2002.
- The F-3 date for filing for the rest of the world, China, and India moved forward 3 weeks, to March 1, 2010.
- Finally, the F-4 date for filing for the rest of the world and China moved forward 1 month, to March 1, 2008. For Mexican nationals, the F-4 category moved forward 2 weeks, to April 15, 2001.
There was no movement in the Final Action cutoff date in the F-2A Family-Based category (Spouses and Unmarried Children (Under Age 21) of U.S. Green Card Holders). As we have seen since April 2023, the F-2A category is not “current” under the Final Action dates chart. All countries except Mexico remain at September 8, 2020. For Mexico, the Final Action cutoff date is set to November 1, 2018. However, as was the case in June, the “Dates for Filing” remain current for the F-2A category, meaning spouses and unmarried children of U.S. green card holders can still file their green card applications for now. Despite still being able to file, these cases will NOT be adjudicated until the priority date is current.
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.
Related Posts
