Washington, D.C., March 23, 2023: The U.S. Department of State just released the April 2023 Visa Bulletin. In this report we highlight the Visa Bulletin’s progress (or retrogression) on key visa categories.

EB1 India and China

Both countries remain unchanged from the March 2023 Visa Bulletin. The cut-off Final Action Date for EB-1 India and China remains at February 1, 2022. The List B Dates For Filing also remain unchained for EB-1 India and China, at June 1, 2022. All other countries remain “Current” in the EB-1 category.

EB5 India and China

Both countries remain unchanged from the March 2023 Visa Bulletin. The cut-off Final Action Date for EB-5 “Unreserved” visas for India remains June 1, 2018, and List A for EB-5 China “Unreserved” remains at July 8, 2015. “Unreserved” visas captures all I-526 visa petitions filed before March 15, 2022.

There is no waiting list for any country in connection with all “Reserved” EB-5 categories (rural, high unemployment and infrastructure).

The cut-off April List B Dates for Filing chart for EB-5 “Unreserved” visas for India remains at December 8, 2019, and List B for EB-5 China “Unreserved” remains at January 1, 2016.

EB2 Retrogression for Rest of World

April 2023 Visa Bulletin warned that retrogression in the Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) category was likely due to much higher than expected number use and demand since December 2022. This is primarily due to the spike in EB2 National Interest Waiver cases for applications with Master’s Degrees or exceptional ability.

The EB-2 Final Action Dates waiting list did retrogress in the April 2023 Visa Bulletin. EB-2 for Mexico, Philippines and Rest of the World was pushed back to July 1, 2022 (from November 1, 2022 in the March 2023 Visa Bulletin). EB-2 India Final Action Dates retrogressed from October 8, 2011 to January 1, 2011 in the April 2023 Visa Bulletin. China EB-2 Final Action Dates remained unchanged.

EB-3 Projections

Due to high demand from applicants with priority dates earlier than the established final action dates, the Department of State set new world-wide EB-2 Final Action Dates. India and China have experienced EB-2 waiting lists for many years. The novelty of the April 2023 Visa Bulletin is a world-wide EB-2 waiting list. Mexico, Philippines and the Rest of the World now have an EB-2 cut-off Final Action Date of July 1, 2022.

The Department of State also warns that retrogression in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) category worldwide may also be required due to increased numbers of approved cases. The April 2023 Visa Bulletin still lists EB-3 Mexico, Philippines and World-Wide as being “Current.”

The State Department projected a total of 197,000 employment-based green cards available for FY 2023.

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