Month: August 2023

In the complex world of U.S. immigration, the Visa Bulletin is a complicated and ever-changing tool that outlines the availability of immigrant visas, offering insight into the waiting times faced by prospective immigrants. The Visa Bulletin is a crucial component of the United States immigration system, serving as a monthly guide that determines when eligible individuals can move forward in their journey to obtain a green card. Published by the U.S. Department of State, the Visa Bulletin categorizes applicants into different preference categories based on their family relationships or employment-based qualifications. These categories are further subdivided by country of origin due to the limited number of visas available each fiscal year.  

The Visa Bulletin displays a “priority date” which has been assigned to each applicant and corresponds to the date when their application was initially filed. The Visa Bulletin’s main function is to publicize processing status for each preference category and country. If an applicant’s priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed in the Visa Bulletin for their category and country, they can proceed with the final steps in their immigration process. However, due to the limited number of visas available in certain categories from certain countries, waiting times can vary widely and can be quite significant. While maddening at times, the Visa Bulletin shows current immigrant processing wait times and helps applicants anticipate potential delays in the progression of their case. Regularly checking the Visa Bulletin and staying informed about anticipated changes and trends in priority dates is essential for immigrants striving to navigate the complex path to permanent residency in the United States.

On July 28, 2023, Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) and Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-Indianna) led 56 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting the Biden administration take executive action to provide relief to highly skilled immigrant workers by advancing all the USDOS Visa Bulletin employment-based categories “Dates for Filing” to “Current”, and allowing employment-based applicants to file their I-485 applications for U.S. permanent residence based on the “Dates for Filing” charts. Since then, there has been much speculation regarding whether the Biden administration will entertain such administrative action. To date there has been no official response from the administration indicating that it intends to take such administrative action and if so, when. We will know if such action will be taken in October 2023 by mid-September when the USDOS issues the Visa Bulletin for October 2023. Given that the administration hasn’t already enacted this type of administrative relief for highly skilled workers, and USCIS is still mulling over proposed filing fee increases that would raise filing fees, decouple the I-485 Adjustment of Status filing fee from the I-765 Employment Authorization and I-131 Advance Parole filing fees, and enact a new filing fee for I-765 and I-131 renewals, we do not believe it is likely that the Biden administration will take such action starting in October 2023. If the Biden administration is considering taking such executive action, we believe it will be in conjunction with the implementation of the new filing fee rule. Thus, we do not believe that all employment-based preference categories will become “Current” in October 2023. However, we hope that there is a significant advancement in the employment-based preference categories in October 2023 which will allow those whose categories recently backlogged to move forward with their I-485 applications. Stay tuned! Mid-September is right around the corner!