As of April 1, 2023, the Employment Based Second Preference category (EB-2) on the U.S. Department of State visa bulletin will retrogress from December 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022.
What is the U.S. Department of State visa bulletin?
The visa bulletin is a group of charts published by the Department of State on a monthly basis that determines when an intending immigrant may move forward with their immigrant visa or adjustment of status application. Generally, the dates shown in the visa bulletin move forward every month, but occasionally, based on the amount of applications received and the visas available, will retrogress (move backward).
What the retrogression means:
The waiting time as of April 1, 2023 for filing of an adjustment of status (AOS) after having an approved I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, has increased by approximately five months. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), beginning on April 1, 2023, will use Chart A, Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases to determine when an applicant can move forward with their AOS.
Example:
You have an I-140 petition with a priority date of March 1, 2023. Based on April 2023’s visa bulletin, you will need to wait approximately 9-10 months for the chart’s date to match or pass your priority date. At this point you can file your adjustment of status.
What we can do:
The visa bulletin is dynamic, meaning that it changes from month to month. While we cannot estimate how fast the visa bulletin will advance, we will monitor it closely, and inform you of any relevant changes and how they affect your immigration process.
