All About the September 2022 Visa Bulletin, What to Expect, and More! — Visa Lawyer Blog — August 8, 2022

In this blog post, we cover the release of the September Visa Bulletin 2022 and what you can expect for employment based and family preference categories during the upcoming month of September.

The Department of State releases the visa bulletin on a monthly basis, which summarizes the availability of immigrant visa numbers for that particular month. The “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” charts indicate when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit the required documentation to the National Visa Center.

Adjustment of Status Filing Chart September 2022

For Family-Sponsored Filings:

Pursuant to guidance released by USCIS, for all family-sponsored preference categories, applicants must use the  Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for September 2022.

For Employment-Based Preference Filings:

All applicants, falling under employment-based preference categories, must use the Final Action Dates chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for September 2022.

September 2022 Visa Bulletin Final Action Cutoff Dates

Employment-Based Categories

FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES

According to the Department of State’s September 2022 Visa Bulletin, the following Final Action cutoff dates will apply for the issuance of an immigrant visa for employment-based categories:

• EB-1: All countries, including India and China, will remain current.
• EB-2: India remains unchanged at December 1, 2014, and China remains unchanged at April 1, 2019. All other countries will remain current.
• EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: EB-3 India and EB-3 China will remain unchanged from the previous month, at February 15, 2012 and April 22, 2018, respectively. All other countries will remain current.
• EB–3 Other Workers: For this category, the Department of State has established a worldwide cutoff date of May 8, 2019, to avoid exceeding the annual numerical limits. EB-3 India and China will remain unchanged at February 15, 2012 and June 1, 2012, respectively.
• EB-5: The Department of State has taken corrective action by establishing a Final Action cutoff date which has advanced by one month to December 22, 2015, for the EB-5 China Unreserved Non-Regional Center (C5, T5, I5, and R5) categories. EB-5 Final Action dates will remain current for all countries and for all EB-5 “Set-Aside” categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure).

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01APR19	C	01DEC14	C	C
3rd	C	22APR18	C	15FEB12	C	C
Other Workers	08MAY19	01JUN12	08MAY19	15FEB12	08MAY19	08MAY19
4th	C	C	08NOV17	C	01APR20	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	08NOV17	C	01APR20	C
5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	22DEC15	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: Rural (20%)	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%)	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%)	C	C	C	C	C	C

DATES FOR FILING FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01MAY19	C	01JAN15	C	C
3rd	C	22MAY18	C	22FEB12	C	C
Other Workers	C	01AUG15	C	22FEB12	C	C
4th	C	C	08DEC17	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	08DEC17	C	C	C
5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	01JAN16	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: (Rural – 20%)	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: (High Unemployment – 10%)	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: (Infrastructure – 2%)	C	C	C	C	C	C

Family-Sponsored Categories

According to the Department of State’s September 2022 Visa Bulletin, the following Final Action cutoff dates will apply for the issuance of an immigrant visa for family-sponsored categories:

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01DEC14	01DEC14	01DEC14	15MAR00	01MAR12
F2A	C	C	C	22APR19	C
F2B	22SEP15	22SEP15	22SEP15	01APR01	22OCT11
F3	22NOV08	22NOV08	22NOV08	15OCT97	08JUN02
F4	22MAR07	22MAR07	15SEP05	01JUN00	22AUG02

• F1 China: December 1, 2014
• F1 India: December 1, 2014
• F1 Mexico: March 15, 2000
• F1 Philippines: March 1, 2012
• F1 World: December 1, 2014
• F2A: Current for all categories, except Mexico at April 22, 2019
• F2B China: September 22, 2015
• F2B India: September 22, 2015
• F2B Mexico: April 1, 2001
• F2B Philippines: October 22, 2011
• F2B World: September 22, 2015
• F3 China: November 22, 2008
• F3 India: November 22, 2008
• F3 Mexico: October 15, 1997
• F3 Philippines: June 08, 2002
• F3 World: November 22, 2008
• F4 China: March 22, 2007
• F4 India: September 15, 2005
• F4 Mexico: June 1, 2000
• F4 Philippines: August 22, 2002
• F4 Other World: March 22, 2007

DATES FOR FILING FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	08AUG16	08AUG16	08AUG16	01DEC01	22APR15
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	01JAN17	01JAN17	01JAN17	08AUG01	01OCT13
F3	08NOV09	08NOV09	08NOV09	15APR01	08NOV03
F4	15DEC07	15DEC07	22FEB06	15MAR01	22APR04

• F1 China: August 8, 2016
• F1 India: August 8, 2016
• F1 Mexico: December 1, 2001
• F1 Philippines: April 22, 2015
• F1 World: August 8, 2016
• F2A: Current for all categories
• F2B China, India, World: January 1, 2017
• F2B Mexico: August 08, 2001
• F2B Philippines: October 1, 2013
• F3 China, India, World: November 8, 2009
• F3 Mexico: April 15, 2001
• F3 Philippines: November 8, 2003
• F4 China: December 15, 2007
• F4 India: February 22, 2006
• F4 Mexico: March 15, 2001
• F4 Philippines: April 22, 2004
• F4 World: December 15, 2007

Impact of President Biden’s Rescission of Proclamation 10014 on the Issuance of Immigrant Visas

In February of last year, President Biden made the decision to rescind Presidential Proclamation 10014 and lift the temporary suspension on the issuance of visas for most immigrant and nonimmigrant visa categories, however the operational capacity at U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide remains limited due to COVID-19 safety concerns.

The Department of State has said that while some Embassies are prioritizing immigrant visa scheduling for spouses of U.S. Citizens, public health and safety concerns remain paramount. Moreover, U.S. Embassies and Consulates are facing substantial backlogs due to the suspension of most visa operations.

Applicants who were previously subject to the immigrant visa ban under Proclamation 10014 may continue with pre-processing of their applications, however their cases will not be scheduled for an interview until Embassies and Consulates return to routine operational capacity. This will likely take time therefore applicants should expect long delays. Those who were previously refused under the Immigrant Visa ban must wait for further instruction from the U.S. Consulate handling their application.

The Takeaway

For the month of September, the major takeaways are that the EB-5 Final Action date for China Unreserved categories has advanced one month to December 22, 2015. The remaining Final Action Dates for the employment-based categories remain unchanged from the previous month. On the Dates for Filing chart, EB-5 China has advanced by more than 1 week to January 1, 2016, while the remaining employment-based categories remain unchanged from the previous month. The State Department has confirmed the FY 2022 limit for employment-based visas is 281,507.

On the family-based side, little to no movement has been seen in most categories, considering that Consulates continue to grapple with the ongoing visa backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As always we will continue to monitor the Visa Bulletin and report on any changes that may impact you.

Questions? If you would like to schedule a consultation, please text 619-483-4549 or call 619-819-9204.

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