April 2023 Visa Bulletin Released

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its April 2023 Visa Bulletin. Other than the EB-3 category for Chinese nationals, which advances by three months, most employment and family-based categories either have no movement or retrogress in April.  Most notably, the Final Action Date for the worldwide EB-2 category retrogresses by four months and there is a cut-off date for the F-2A category for spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents. 

Employment-based Movement

The EB-1 category remains open (“current” or “C” in DOS talk) for nationals of all countries except for India and China, which continue to have a moderate backlog. 

The EB-2 category will retrogress for all countries except for China, which remains the same as the previous month. The EB-3 category remains open for nationals of all countries except for China and India. The priority date for EB-3 China moves forward by three months in April. 

Here’s a chart for ease of reference:

Family-based Movement

Final action dates for all family-based categories remain the same as last month.

By way of reminder, the categories are:

  • F-1 category:  unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

  • F2-A category: spouses and children under 21 of lawful permanent residents

  • F2-B category: unmarried adult children (over 21) of lawful permanent residents

  • F-3 category:  married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

  • F-4 category:  siblings of U.S. citizens

WHAT DATES IN THE VISA BULLETIN SHOULD YOU USE FOR FILING YOUR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATION WITH USCIS?

If USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for a fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, then USCIS will state here that you may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin, which usually has dates later than the Final Action Dates noted above. Otherwise, USCIS will indicate on its website that you must use the Application Final Action Dates chart (above) to determine when you may file your adjustment of status application in the United States.

For April 2023, USCIS has confirmed the Final Action Dates (above) should be used for employment-based categories. 

For family-based categories, the Dates for Filing (chart below) should be used.

If the priority date for your family-based category is before the date listed above and you are in the United States, you may file your application to adjust status along with the applications for employment authorization and travel permission (assuming you have no bars to admissibility) with USCIS in April. 

The entire visa bulletin is available on the State Department’s website, which includes information on the diversity visa lottery and the EB-5 priority dates. 

If you would like more information on how to understand the monthly visa bulletin, please check out our blog post on this topic.

This alert is for informational purposes only.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss these developments further. 


Nadia YakoobNadia Yakoob & Associates