Visa Bulletin of September 2022
3 min read
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the September 2022 Visa Bulletin. This is the last visa bulletin for the fiscal year 2022, and there is almost no movement in cutoff dates from the previous month. All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in the final action chart (i.e., Chart A) unless otherwise specified.
Immigrant visa numerical limitations
As FY 2022 approaches its close on September 30, the State Department has given the immigrant visa numerical limitations for the fiscal year. The office reports that the FY 2022 worldwide employment-based preference limit is 281,507. Recent earlier years’ worldwide employment-based limits were 262,288 (FY 2021) and 156,253 (FY 2020). USCIS has expressed that it is attempting to process as many adjustments of status applications as possible in the final weeks of FY 2022 to maximize the usage of all employment-based immigrant visa numbers.
Employment-Based Priority Date Cutoffs for September 2022
To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in September, employer-sponsored foreign nationals should have a need date that is sooner than the date listed below for their preference category and country.
Further, USCIS has picked the Final Action Dates chart listed in the next month’s State Department Visa Bulletin for employment-based applications.
September 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary
According to the State Department’s September Visa Bulletin 2022, Final Action cutoff dates for the issuance of an immigrant visa will be as follows:
Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category
The EB1 category remains current for all countries of chargeability.
Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2) Category
For the third month in a row, there is no development in the EB2 category. EB2 India goes on with a 1st December 2014, cutoff date, while the cutoff date for EB2 China stays set at 1st April 2019. The EB2 category stays current for any remaining nations of chargeability.
Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3) Category
There is no change from last month in the EB3 category. EB3 India’s cutoff date stays set at 15th February 2012, while EB3 China keeps its 22nd April 2018, cutoff date. The EB3 category stays current for any remaining nations of chargeability.
EB3 Other Workers
The cutoff date for EB3 other workers in India is the same as its EB3 cutoff date. For China, the end date for EB3 different workers stays unchanged on 1st June 2012. Also, for any remaining nations of chargeability, the cutoff date for EB3 different workers stays on 8th May 2019.
Employment-Based, Fourth Preference (EB4) Category
There is no development in the EB4 cutoff dates. The EB4 cutoff date for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras keeps on being 8th November 2017, while EB4 Mexico keeps its 1st April 2020 cutoff date. The EB4 category stays current for any remaining nations of chargeability.
[USCIS Extends Flexibilities Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic]
Employment-Based, Fifth Preference (EB5) Category
EB5 stays current for any remaining nations of chargeability, except for China. China’s cutoff date for EB5 unreserved (i.e., EB5 immigrant visa numbers not put away for the country, high unemployment, and infrastructure projects), advances to 22nd December 2015. EB5 set aside for China is current.
Conclusion
Moreover, we will continue to closely monitor and report on development and predictions related to the monthly visa bulletin.
