In the December 2022 Visa Bulletin, EB-1 remains current for all countries. EB-2 Worldwide (All Other) retrogresses. EB-2 for China remains unchanged from the previous visa bulletin, while EB-2 for India retrogresses. EB-3 for China and India progresses.
FINAL ACTION DATES (Chart A):
China:
- EB-2: Remains unchanged with a cut-off date of June 8, 2019.
- EB-3: Progresses approximately 7 weeks with a cut-off date of August 1, 2018.
India:
- EB-2: Retrogresses approximately 6 months with a cut-off date of October 8, 2011.
- EB-3: Progresses approximately 2.5 months with a cut-off date of June 15, 2012.
Others:
- EB-1: Current for all countries.
- EB-2: Worldwide (All Other) retrogresses with a cut-off date of November 1, 2022.
DATES FOR FILING (Chart B):
China:
- EB-2: Remains unchanged with a cut-off date of July 8, 2019.
- EB-3: Progresses approximately 7 weeks with a cut-off date of September 1, 2018.
India:
- EB-2: Remains unchanged with a cut-off date of May 1, 2012.
- EB-3: Progresses 1 month with a cut-off date of August 1, 2012.
Others:
- EB-1: Current for all countries.
- EB-2: Worldwide (All Other) will have a cut-off date of December 1, 2022.
PLEASE NOTE: USCIS has not indicated whether they will accept adjustment of status applications pursuant to Dates for Filing (Chart B) for December 2022. For more information, please visit the USCIS website.
Next Steps and Strategies
Applicants that have their I-485, Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications pending with USCIS under the EB-2 category, who find that their priority date is no longer current under the EB-2 final action but are current under the EB-3 category, may benefit from an interfiling request to USCIS. An interfiling is the process by which an AOS applicant may request that USCIS change the basis of their pending application from one preference category to another. We invite you to contact your immigration counsel to inquire whether this strategy may benefit your specific case.
Our teams will continue to monitor the priority dates each month, and if a case would ever benefit from an EB-3 interfiling, we will review and flag those cases for further action.
Looking Forward
As reported in previous issues, EIG expects that EB-1 will continue progressing the same with each visa bulletin. Individuals who are now current should contact EIG to begin work on their Adjustment of Status case(s). If you already have an AOS pending with USCIS, it will not be adjudicated until the Final Action date becomes current.
The EIG team closely monitors changes to the monthly visa bulletin and determines the best action plan for each case. We will reach out to individuals whose priority date will be current next month to initiate the next step of the green card process.
For more information about the Visa Bulletin, we’ve summarized and answered frequently asked questions here. We encourage you to read this article to better understand what your priority date means.
The complete Visa Bulletin for December 2022 can be found here.