October 2023 Visa Bulletin-Released by Department of State

The October 2023 Visa Bulletin has just been released by the Department of State. USCIS has also announced that it will accept applications for both family and employment based applications, based on the Dates of Filing chart.

USCIS specifically commented in the bulletin the following: “With the start of fiscal year 2024, DOS can begin allocating employment-based visa numbers from the FY 2024 limit, estimated to be 165,000. As a result, we see a measure of recovery from the retrogressions of FY 2023 in all categories. Every Final Action Date in the Visa Bulletin has advanced from its level in September 2023 (or remained the same), and on October 1, 2023, USCIS and DOS will begin completing the adjudication of applications filed by noncitizens for whom visas become available.”

The key takeaways here are:

1. Filing dates chart can be used for application filing eligibility.
2. We should expect to see movement in the employment-based categories due to the influx of remaining visa numbers from FY 2024.
3. DOS is pacing itself through the next few months in terms of how much movement they will allow in the employment-based categories.
4. DOS and USCIS will resume their work on any already filed applications that were halted in processing due to the previous months’ retrogressions.
5. All chargeability areas, EB-2 category, has moved ahead to Jan. 2023.
6. All chargeability areas, EB-3 category, has moved forward to Feb. 2023.
7. All chargeability areas, EB-1 category is now current.
8. India, EB-2 and EB-3 category have only very little movement, up to May and August 2012, respectively.
9. India, EB-1 Category, has advanced to July 2019.
10. China, EB-2 has advanced to January 2020, and EB-3 category has advanced to September 2020, ahead of EB-2.

If you believe you are eligible and need assistance with your applications, reach out to our office to begin preparing your Adjustment of Status applications.