Visa Bulletin September 2023

The September 2023 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 September 2023 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. 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 September 2023 Visa Bulletin priority tables and dates

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 that applications may be filed regardless of the applicant's priority date.

If your priority date is current, you may apply for a visa when you meet the requirements.

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 September 2023

These are the tables of the Visa Bulletin for September 2023 of the U.S. Department of State published for cases based on the family, employmentthe fiscal year 2023 visa lottery and the lote of visas for fiscal year 2024:

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	01JAN15	22ABR01
F2A	01JAN18	01SEP16
F2B	22SEP15	01AGO01
F3	08JAN09	15ENE98
F4	22ABR07	01AGO00

Mainland China, India and the Philippines

Dates for submitting family-based case applications

All countries except those listed

Mainland China, India and the Philippines

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	MEXICO
1st	01AGO23	01AGO23
2nd	01JUL22	01JUL22
3rd	01MAY20	01MAY20
Other Workers	01MAY20	01MAY20
4th	01SEP18	01SEP18
Certain Religious Workers	01SEP18	01SEP18
5th No Reservations (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	C
5th Reserve: Rural (20%)	C	C
5th Reserve: High Unemployment Rate (10%)	C	C
5th Reserve: Infrastructure (2%)	C	C

Mainland China, India and the Philippines

Dates for submitting applications for employment-based cases

All countries except those listed

Category based on employment	All countries except those listed	MEXICO
1st	C	C
2nd	01DEC22	01DEC22
3rd	01MAY23	01MAY23
Other Workers	01JUN20	01JUN20
4th	01OCT18	01OCT18
Certain Religious Workers	01OCT18	01OCT18
5th No Reservations (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	C
5th Reserve: Rural (20%)	C	C
5th Reserve: High Unemployment Rate (10%)	C	C
5th Reserve: Infrastructure (2%)	C	C

Mainland China, India and the Philippines

How to read the table of cases based on the Diversity Visa Program (DV, visa lottery) for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

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 the spouses and children of the winners of the fiscal year 2023 visa lotteryThe DV visas are only eligible for 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 filing FY 2023 visa lottery-based case applications by September 2023

Region	All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately
AFRICA	C	Excluding: Algeria 45,000 Egypt 43,200 Morocco 63,400
ASIA	21.000	Except: Iran 16,000 Nepal 21,000
EUROPE	32.000	Except: Russia 32,000 Uzbekistan 17,000
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)	C
OCEANIA	2.500
SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN	3.150

Dates for filing FY 2024 visa lottery-based cases by October 2023

2024 Visa Lottery Results and Predictions

2024 Visa Lottery Results (DV-2024)

The persons chosen to participate in the Diversity Visa Program DV-2024 have been registered and notified by the U.S. Department of State.

By fiscal year 2024, there will be up to 55,000 diversity visas available. The State Department distributes these visas among six geographic regions, and no country may receive more than seven percent of the available visas in any one year.

The Department of State received 22,185,619 qualified entries for the 2024 visa lottery.

Approximately 143,000 potential candidates have been registered in the 2024 visa lottery and informed of their eligibility to apply for a visa. This higher number of applicants should ensure that all diversity visas can be used during FY 2024, as the selection does not take into account the number of family members who could immigrate with the selectee and it is likely that some of those selected will not complete their cases or will not be eligible for a visa.

Those selected for the fiscal year 2024 visa lottery (October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024) must act immediately on their visa applications and complete all necessary steps by September 30, 2024. The FY2024 program will come to an end once all available diversity visas have been issued.

Employment-based visa availability during September 2023

USCIS and State Department demand for employment-based visas has steadily increased this fiscal year. Most of the employment-based preference category restrictions and/or the overall FY 2023 cap will likely be reached in September 2023.

If an annual maximum is reached, the preference category should be made "unavailable" and requests for additional numbers will not be accepted.

Determination of the numerical limits of immigrants required by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Sections 201(c) and (d) of the INA state that the Department of State must calculate each year the limits on the number of persons in each country.

These figures are based in part on information from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on the number of immediate relative adjustments in the previous year and the number of aliens paroled into the United States under Section 212(d)(5) in the second preceding year. Without this knowledge, you cannot make an official decision on what the annual limits are.

Pursuant to Section 203(g) of the INA, the Visa Office (VO) makes allocations based on reasonable estimates of the anticipated number of visas that will be available under the annual caps. This prevents processing delays while awaiting USCIS data. On August 2, 2023, USCIS provided VO with the information it needed.

In accordance with Section 201 of the INA, the Department of State has established numerical limits for family and employment preference for FY 2023. The numerical limits for FY 2023 are listed below:

* Limit for family-based preference worldwide: 226,000

* Employment-based preference limit for the entire world: 197,091

Under Section 202(a) of the INA, the limit for each country is set at 7% of the annual limits for family and labor. For FY2023, each country can only have 29,616. The limit for a dependent area each year is 2%, or 8,462.

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.