January 2023 Visa Bulletin
The U.S. Department of State publishes a Visa Bulletin in the middle of each month that contains information related to current immigrant visa availability for the following month. In a previous post, we explained the importance of the Bulletin and the value of its details.
Overview of the January 2023 Visa Bulletin
In the January 2023 Visa Bulletin, EB-1 final action and application filing dates were implemented for China and India. EB-2 and EB-3 for China and India remain the same as the December Bulletin. For January 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not yet announced if it will accept Adjustment of Status applications based on the Dates for Final Action or the Dates for Filing.
Final Action Dates
China
- EB-1 has a priority date cut-off of February 1, 2022
- EB-2 remains unchanged with a priority date cut-off of June 8, 2019
- EB-3 remains unchanged with a priority date cut-off of August 1, 2018
India
- EB-1 has a priority date cut-off of February 1, 2022
- EB-2 remains unchanged with a priority date cut-off of October 8, 2011
- EB-3 remains unchanged with a priority date cut-off of June 15, 2012
All Other
- EB-1 and EB-3 remain current for all other countries
- EB-2 remains unchanged with a priority date cut-off of November 1, 2022
Dates for Filing
China
- EB-1 has a priority date cut-off of June 1, 2022
- EB-2 remains unchanged with a priority date cut-off of July 8, 2019
- EB-3 remains unchanged with a priority date cut-off of September 1, 2018
India
- EB-1 has a priority date cut-off of June 1, 2022
- EB-2 remains unchanged with a priority date cut-off of May 1, 2012
- EB-3 remains unchanged with a priority date cut-off of August 1, 2012
All Other
- EB-1 and EB-3 remain current for all other countries
- EB-2 remains unchanged with a priority date of December 1, 2022
What Does the January 2023 Visa Bulletin Mean?
USCIS has announced that they will accept initial Adjustment of Status applications based on the Dates for Filing Chart in the January 2023 Visa Bulletin.
As was warned in the December 2022 Visa Bulletin, USCIS enacted a final action date and a date for filing for EB-1 for both China and India. Instead of EB-1 remaining current, now foreign nationals from China and India are subject to a final action date of February 1, 2022, and an application filing date of June 1, 2022.
As expected, the EB-2 and EB-3 categories did not see any movement for China or India, likely due to the large backlog USCIS faces. Additionally, there was no forward movement for any country or category in the January Visa Bulletin. As it is, the priority date cutoff for EB-3 China is currently approximately one year ahead of EB-2 China. Accordingly, some Chinese-born EB-2 applicants with pending I-485 Adjustment of Status applications may consider submitting an interfiling request to USCIS to downgrade pending applications from EB-2 to EB-3. Please contact a member of our Immigration and Nationality team at Stevens & Lee to inquire whether interfiling may benefit your specific case.
