The May 2022 Visa Bulletin is now available. The new tables include dates for consular filing and final visa issuance action by U.S. embassies or consulates.
If you want to see the tables of the Visa Bulletin about Filing for Adjustment of Status (immigrant visa applications filed within the U.S.) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by May 2022 click here.
What is the May 2022 Visa Bulletin?
Each month, the U.S. Department of State (USDOS) publishes a report that specifies the availability and priority date of immigrant visas that are ready for processing and establishes the cut-off date after which visas will no longer be available for each visa category.
The Visa Bulletin lists the priority dates for applicants according to visa categories: family-based, employment-based, and diversity visa program (visa lottery). It also updates the dates for the various categories based on the immigrants' countries of origin, the number of visas that have been issued so far, and an estimate of visa demand.
The information in the Visa Bulletin may change from month to month. It is useful to find out how much of a delay there is for different types of immigrant visa applications.
This monthly report serves as a guide for issuing visas at U.S. consulates and embassies. USCIS also uses the Visa Bulletin to determine whether it can accept or adjudicate an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
If you are waiting your turn for a visa, the Visa Bulletin allows you to monitor the movement of deadlines to find out when your priority date is being processed.
How to Read the May 2022 Visa Bulletin Tables
The U.S. Department of State and USCIS publish two tables for each visa preference category with the following information:
Family or employment based cases
In the sections where a "C" is marked, it means that the category is current or available, and that applications may be filed regardless of the applicant's priority date. In the sections marked "U," it means that the category is "not" current or "unavailable," and that "no" applications may be filed regardless of the applicant's priority date.
Final Action Dates: dates on which immigrant visas can finally be issued.
Dates for Filing: earliest date a person can file an application for an immigrant visa.
Visa Bulletin May 2022
These are the tables of the Visa Bulletin for May 2022 of the U.S. Department of State published for cases based on the family, employment or the fiscal year 2022 visa lottery:
Final Action Dates for Family Based Case Requests
Types of Family Preference
- First preference (F1): unmarried children, over the age of twenty-one, of U.S. citizens.
- Second preference A (F2A): spouses of permanent residents and unmarried children, under the age of twenty-one, of permanent residents.
- Second preference B (F2B): unmarried children, over the age of twenty-one, of permanent residents.
- Third preference (F3): married children of U.S. citizens, their spouses and unmarried children under the age of twenty-one.
- Fourth preference (F4): siblings of U.S. citizens, their spouses and unmarried children under the age of twenty-one.
| Pfamily-based referral | All countries except those listed | CHINA |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 01DEC14 | 01DEC14 | 01DEC14 | 01JAN00 | 01MAR12 |
| F2A | C | C | C | C | C |
| F2B | 22SEP15 | 22SEP15 | 22SEP15 | 01JAN01 | 22OCT11 |
| F3 | 22NOV08 | 22NOV08 | 22NOV08 | 15SEP97 | 08JUN02 |
| F4 | 22MAR07 | 22MAR07 | 15SEP05 | 01JAN00 | 22 AUG02 |
Dates for submitting family-based case applications
| Pfamily-based referral | All countries except those listed | CHINA |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 15MAY16 | 15MAY16 | 15MAY16 | 01MAY01 | 22ABR15 |
| F2A | C | C | C | C | C |
| F2B | 22SEP16 | 22SEP16 | 22SEP16 | 01MAY01 | 01OCT13 |
| F3 | 22 AUG09 | 22 AUG09 | 22 AUG09 | 01MAR01 | 08NOV03 |
| F4 | 01OCT07 | 01OCT07 | 22FEB06 | 01MAR01 | 22ABR04 |
Final action dates for employment-based case applications
Types of Employment Preference:
- First preference (EB-1): priority workers.
- Second preference (EB-2): professionals with advanced degrees and persons of exceptional ability.
- Third preference (EB-3): skilled workers, professionals and unskilled workers.
- Fourth preference (EB-4): certain special immigrants.
- Fifth preference (EB-5): immigrant investors.
| Category based on employment | All countries except those listed | CHINA | EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 2nd | C | 01MAR19 | C | 01SEP13 | C | C |
| 3rd | C | 22MAR18 | C | 15JAN12 | C | C |
| Other Workers | C | 01JUN12 | C | 15JAN12 | C | C |
| 4th | C | C | 01MAY17 | C | 01ABR20 | C |
| Certain Religious Workers | C | C | 01MAY17 | C | 01ABR20 | C |
| 5th No Reservations (C5, T5, and all others) |
C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th No Reservations (I5 and R5) |
C | 22NOV15 | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Reserve: Rural (20%) |
C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Reserve: High Unemployment Rate (10%) |
C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Reserve: Infrastructure (2%) |
C | C | C | C | C | C |
Dates for submitting applications for employment-based cases
| Category based on employment | All countries except those listed | CHINA | EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 2nd | C | 01ABR19 | C | 01DEC14 | C | C |
| 3rd | C | 01ABR18 | C | 22JAN12 | C | C |
| Other Workers | C | 01 AUG15 | C | 22JAN12 | C | C |
| 4th | C | C | 15JUN17 | C | C | C |
| Certain Religious Workers | C | C | 15JUN17 | C | C | C |
| 5th No Reservations (C5, T5, and all others) |
C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th No Reservations (I5 and R5) |
C | 15DEC15 | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Reserve: Rural (20%) |
C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Reserve: High Unemployment Rate (10%) |
C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Reserve: Infrastructure (2%) |
C | C | C | C | C | C |
Dates for filing FY 2022 visa lottery-based case applications
How to read the table of cases based on the FY 2022 Diversity Visa Program (DV, visa lottery).
Below are the allocation cut-off numbers for diversity visas, based on region or eligible countries, for applicants who meet all requirements. When a maximum number is shown, it means that there are only visas available for DV applicants below the number specifically allocated in the region.
The person who "wins the lottery" is only entitled to receive immigrant status in the DV category until the end of the visa fiscal year for which he or she was selected. For all applicants registered in the FY 2022 visa lottery, that entitlement ends on September 30, 2022.
DV visas may not be issued to DV-2022 lottery participants after that date. This also applies to spouses and children of FY 2022 visa lottery winners, who are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2022.
There can be no guarantee that DV visas will be available until the end of fiscal year 2022, because they could be exhausted before September 30, 2022.
| Region | All areas except listings | |
|---|---|---|
| AFRICA | 63,800 | Except: Egypt 13,000 |
| ASIA | 30,000 | Except: Iran 8,500 Nepal 4,800 |
| EUROPE | 27,000 | |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) | 10 | |
| OCEANIA | 1,200 | |
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN | 1,300 |
Important additional information for the May 2022 Visa Bulletin
Reauthorization of Fifth Preference I5 and R5 Visa Categories for Employment-Based Regional Centers
On March 15, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 was signed into law, reauthorizing and reforming the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program.
The U.S. Department of State has resumed processing visas based on approved employment-based Fifth Preference Regional Center petitions filed with USCIS on or before June 30, 2021.
The Table of Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Categories and the Table of Dates for Filing Employment-Based Visa Applications have been updated to reflect some of the new provisions outlined in the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, most notably the creation of two groups of visa numbers within the EB-5 category. One set of numbers is "reserved" for specific categories, while the remaining available numbers are "unreserved".
The Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Categories Table shows the final action dates for May that are effective immediately for the month of April 2022.
Employment-based, non-reserve fifth preference categories (C5, T5 and all others) are in effect for all countries; employment-based, non-reserve fifth preference categories (I5 and R5) are in effect for all countries except those born in mainland China, whose final action date is November 22, 2015; and all reserve categories are in effect for all countries.
If sufficient demand materializes, a final action date and filing date for C5 and T5 categories may need to be established as early as June to keep number usage within the maximum allowable under the FY2022 annual caps.
Extension of Fourth Preference Employment Status for Certain Religious Workers (SR)
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, also extended the Fourth Employment Preference category for Certain Religious Workers (RH) until September 30, 2022.
As indicated in Item F of the Visa Bulletin that announced the March 2022 final action dates, the extension has resulted in the immediate implementation of the following final action dates for the month of April 2022:
SR: "Current" effective immediately for all countries except El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which are subject to a final action date of May 1, 2017, and Mexico, which is subject to a final action date of April 1, 2020.
Availability of "Other Worker" (EW) Third Preference Employment Numbers
To keep number usage within the maximum allowable under the FY 2022 annual cap, high number usage in the "Other Workers" (EW) Third Preferred Employment (TPE) category may require the formation of a worldwide final action date as early as June.
This situation will be closely monitored and changes will be made as necessary.
English 
Español