Visa Bulletin October 2022

The October 2022 Visa Bulletin is now available. The new tables include consular filing dates and final visa issuance action by U.S. embassies or consulates.

If you want to see the tables of the Visa Bulletin October 2022 on Filing for Adjustment of Status (immigrant visa applications filed within the U.S.) of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) click here.

What is the Visa Bulletin?

Each month, the U.S. Department of State 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 The program orders applicants' priority dates according to visa categories: family-based, employment-based, and diversity visa program (visa lottery) petitions. 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 the demand for visas.

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 visa applications.

This monthly visa bulletin serves as a guide for the National Visa Center (NVC) for visa processing and visa issuance in the United States. 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, this document allows you to monitor and check the progress, delay or non-movement of deadlines to know when your priority date is being processed.

   

How to read the tables and priority dates of the October 2022 Visa Bulletin

The U.S. Department of State and USCIS publish two tables for all visa preference categories with the following information:

In sections where a "C" is marked, it means that the category is current or available, and applications may be filed regardless of the applicant's priority date. If your priority date is current, you may apply for a visa upon qualifying.

In the sections where a "U" is marked, it means that the category is "not current" or "unavailable", and that "no" applications can 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 a visa.

An immigrant's country of birth is also a factor in determining the availability of a visa.

The NVC notifies immigrants by email or regular mail about how to apply for a visa through the consular channel. You should review and follow their instructions carefully.

Visa Bulletin October 2022

These are the tables of the Visa Bulletin for October 2022 of the U.S. Department of State published for cases based on the family, employment and the fiscal year 2023 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 21 years of age.

All countries except those listed

Family-based preference	All countries except those listed	MEXICO
F1	01DEC14	15MAR00
F2A	C	C
F2B	22SEP15	01ABR01
F3	22NOV08	15OCT97
F4	22MAR07	01JUN00

Mainland China, India and the Philippines

Family-based preference	CHINA - mainland	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
F1	01DEC14	01DEC14	01MAR12
F2A	C	C	C
F2B	22SEP15	22SEP15	22OCT11
F3	22NOV08	22NOV08	08JUN02
F4	22MAR07	15SEP05	22 AUG02

Dates for submitting family-based case applications

All countries except those listed

Family-based preference	All countries except those listed	MEXICO
F1	08AUG16	01DEC01
F2A	C	C
F2B	01JAN17	08AGO01
F3	08NOV09	15ABR01
F4	15DEC07	15MAR01

Mainland China, India and the Philippines

Family-based preference	CHINA - mainland	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
F1	08AUG16	08AUG16	22APR15
F2A	C	C	C
F2B	01JAN17	01JAN17	01OCT13
F3	08NOV09	08NOV09	08NOV03
F4	15DEC07	22FEB06	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.

All countries except those listed

Category based on employment	All countries except those listed	EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS	MEXICO
1st	C	C	C
2nd	C	C	C
3rd	C	C	C
Other Workers	01JUN20	01JUN20	01JUN20
4th	C	15MAR18	15SEP20
Certain Religious Workers	U	U	U
5th No Reservations (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: Rural (20%)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: High Unemployment Rate (10%)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: Infrastructure (2%)	C	C	C

Mainland China, India and the Philippines

Category based on employment	CHINA mainland	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C
2nd	08JUN19	01ABR12	C
3rd	15JUN18	01ABR12	C
Other Workers	01SEP12	01ABR12	01JUN20
4th	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	U	U	U
5th No Reservations (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	22MAR15	C	C
5th Reserve: Rural (20%)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: High Unemployment Rate (10%)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: Infrastructure (2%)	C	C	C

Dates for submitting applications for employment-based cases

All countries except those listed

Category based on employment	All countries except those listed	EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS	MEXICO
1st	C	C	C
2nd	C	C	C
3rd	C	C	C
Other Workers	08SEP22	08SEP22	08SEP22
4th	C	15ABR18	15OCT20
Certain Religious Workers	C	15ABR18	15OCT20
5th No Reservations (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: Rural (20%)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: High Unemployment Rate (10%)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: Infrastructure (2%)	C	C	C

Mainland China, India and the Philippines

Category based on employment	CHINA mainland	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C
2nd	08JUL19	01MAY12	C
3rd	15JUL18	01JUL12	C
Other Workers	01NOV15	01JUL12	08SEP22
4th	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C
5th No Reservations (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	01JAN16	08DEC19	C
5th Reserve: Rural (20%)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: High Unemployment Rate (10%)	C	C	C
5th Reserve: Infrastructure (2%)	C	C	C

 

How to read the table of cases based on the FY 2023 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 2023 visa lottery, that entitlement ends on September 30, 2023.

DV visas may not be issued to DV-2023 lottery participants after that date. This also applies to spouses and children of FY 2023 visa lottery winners, who are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2023.

There can be no guarantee that DV visas will be available until the end of fiscal year 2023, because they could be exhausted before September 30, 2023.

Dates for submitting FY 2023 visa lottery-based case applications by October 2022

 

Region	All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately
AFRICA	5.700	Excluding: Algeria 5,600 Egypt 1,700 Morocco 5,600
ASIA	2.800	Except: Iran 2,500 Nepal 1,450
EUROPE	5.700	Except: Russia 5,600 Uzbekistan 5,600
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)	4
OCEANIA	375
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN	500

 

Dates for submitting applications for cases based on the FY 2023 visa lottery by November 2022

Region	All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately
AFRICA	5.700	Excluding: Algeria 5,600 Egypt 1,700 Morocco 5,600
ASIA	2.800	Except: Iran 2,500 Nepal 1,450
EUROPE	5.700	Except: Russia 5,600 Uzbekistan 5,600
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)	4
OCEANIA	375
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN	500

 

Scheduled expiration of the religious worker (RH) category of the fourth preference for employment (EB-4)

The Fourth Employment Preference category for Certain Religious Workers (RH) was extended until September 30, 2022 by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, which was passed on March 15, 2022.

After midnight on September 29, 2022, no SR visas may be issued abroad and no decisions on adjustment of status cases may be made.

All non-minister special immigrant applicants must be admitted to the United States no later than midnight on September 29, 2022, and visas issued prior to that date will only be valid until September 29, 2022.

For the month of October 2022, the SR category appears as "U" ("Unavailable") for all nations.

If the SR category is extended by legislation, it will be available immediately and will be subject to the same final action deadlines as the other fourth preference employment categories (EB-4) according to the country of eligibility.

Final action date for non-reserve fifth preference employment categories (including C5, T5, I5, I5 and R5)

Due to the high demand for numbers, especially for the issuance of visas abroad, the final action date for the employment-based non-reservation fifth preference (EB-5) categories for Chinese-born persons has to be delayed.

In addition, the employment-based unreserved fifth preference categories have had sufficient demand from India to necessitate the imposition of a final action date in October.

These corrective measures are necessary to keep the use of numbers within the maximum allowed under the FY2023 annual restrictions due to high demand for immigrants from within China and India, as well as reduced availability of visa numbers for FY2023 compared to FY2021 and FY2022.

The U.S. Department of State will be attentive to this matter and will make the necessary adjustments as needed.

Filing dates for October 2022 for India's second employment preference (EB-2) retrogression.

To take full advantage of the historically high employment cap of 281,507, the final action and filing dates for Indian EB-2 applications were moved up quickly during FY 2022.

Due to the large decrease in the number of available Indian EB-2 visas for FY 2023 compared to FY 2022 and the resulting high demand for applications, corrective action was necessary to keep the use of the number within the annual limitations for FY 2023.

The U.S. Department of State will be attentive to this matter and will make the necessary adjustments as needed.

Forecasts of visa availability based on the fourth employment category (EB-4) for FY 2023

In order to keep the use of numbers within the maximum allowed by the FY 2023 annual cap, high demand in the fourth employment category (EB-4) may require the adoption of a final global action date in the coming months.

The U.S. Department of State will be attentive to this matter and will make the necessary adjustments as needed.

Immigration consultation

Anyone who has questions about U.S. immigration law, including how to read the Visa Bulletin and apply for an immigrant visa through consular channels or adjustment of status, should immediately consult with a licensed and experienced U.S. immigration attorney to determine their legal immigration options.

Avoid being victim of immigration fraud and never consult with notaries, immigration consultants, paper-fillers, multi-services and others. unlicensed persons to obtain immigration legal advice.

Dr. Nelson A. Castillo is an immigration attorney with over 20 years of legal experience and author of La Tarjeta Verde: Cómo Obtener la Residencia Permanente en los Estados Unidos (Green Card: How to Obtain Permanent Residence in the United States). He is a former President of the Hispanic National Bar Association and the Westlake South Neighborhood Council of Los Angeles.

For information on how to consult with Dr. Castillo, click here. click here.