Visa Bulletin September 2023 Shows Little Changes in Last Month

Visa Bulletin September 2023 Shows Little Changes in Last Month

 This bulletin provides information on the availability of immigrant numbers for September. It includes “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications” to determine when applicants should submit required documentation. USCIS may allow the use of “Dates for Filing Visa Applications” charts if more visas are available than applicants.

 1- Consular officers and USCIS determine visa dates based on reported priority dates. The category or foreign state is considered oversubscribed if demand exceeds the numerical limits. The final action date for an oversubscribed category is the first applicant’s priority date, which could not be reached within the limits. If a last action date is retrogressed, only applicants with priority dates within the new date will receive numbers. If the annual limit is reached, the preference category becomes “unavailable.”

2- The fiscal year 2023 limits for family-sponsored and employment-based preference immigrants have been set. The limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants is 226,000, and for employment-based preference immigrants is 197,091. The per-country limit is 7% of the total annual preference limits, or 29,616, and the dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 8,462.

3- INA Section 203(e) states that preference visas should be issued in the order in which petitions are filed. Section 203(d) says that spouses and children of preference immigrants have the same status and consideration. Section 202(e) applies visa prorating provisions when demand exceeds the per-country limit. These provisions apply to China (mainland-born), India, Mexico, and the Philippines.

4- Section 203(a) of the INA outlines the preference classes for Family-sponsored immigrant visas :

Family-based Immigration Categories : 

 F-1: Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

F-2A: Spouses and children of permanent residents make up 77% of the second preference limitation, with 75% exempting them from the per-country limit.

F- 2B: Unmarried sons and daughters over 21 of permanent residents can account for 23% of the second preference limitation.

F-3: There are 23,400 married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and the first and second preferences may not require additional numbers.

F-4: The U.S. allows 65,000 brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens to immigrate each year and any additional numbers not used by the first three preference categories.

Final Action Dates for Family-Sponsored Preference Cases Sep- 2023

Dates for Filing Family-Sponsored Visa Applications Sep 2023

Employment-based categories: 

EB-1: Priority workers comprise 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, and any remaining numbers not needed for the fourth and fifth preferences are also included in this category.

EB-2: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level is allocated to members of professions holding advanced degrees or persons of exceptional ability. This percentage may be increased if the first preference category does not require any numbers.

EB-3: 28.6% of the worldwide level of skilled workers, professionals, and other workers can be admitted, with a limit of 10,000 for the “Other Workers” category.

EB-4: Certain special immigrants make up 7.1% of the worldwide immigration level.

EB-5: 7.1% of global employment creation is reserved for immigrants, with 32% reserved for those who invest in specific areas and projects and 68% for other qualified immigrants.

Final Action Dates for Employment-based Preference Cases Sep- 2023

The State Department’s September Visa Bulletin has announced the cutoff dates for immigrant visa issuance or adjustment of status application approval. :

EB-1:No changes have occurred in the countries’ situations since last month. China’s date remains at February 1, 2022, India’s date remains at January 1, 2012, and all other countries’ dates remain at August 1, 2023.

EB-2: India will stay at January 1, 2011, China will stay at July 8, 2019, and all other countries will move forward to July 1, 2022.

EB-4: India will stay at January 1, 2009, while China will move forward to September 1, 2019. All other countries will stay at May 1, 2020.

EB-5: For the EB-5 Unreserved categories, India and China will have priority dates of April 1, 2017 and September 8, 2015 respectively. All other countries will have current priority dates. The EB-5 set-aside categories will also have current priority dates.

Dates for Filing Employment-based Sponsored Visa Applications Sep 2023

Next Visa Bulletin:  The October 2023 Visa Bulletin is expected to bring significant changes as new visa allocations for FY 2024 become available.

The Law Offices of Prashanthi Reddy PLLC will keep updating their Immigration blog with new information as it arises.