The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the Monthly Visa Bulletin for August 2023 revealing new immigrant visa retrogression with up to a decade of retrogression for already-backlogged categories, along with some modest forward movement in other categories. 

For the first time in years, the Final Action Dates in the EB-1 preference category are backlogged for all countries of birth in the EB-1 category. Previously, only China (PRC) and India were backlogged. The new backlogs are initially modest, but for those born in India, the Final Action Date for the EB-1 category retrogressed by nearly 10 years. China remains unchanged.  

Final Action Dates in the EB-2 preference category either remained the same or moved forward modestly.  

In the EB-3 preference category, Final Action Dates for all countries of birth other than China and India retrogressed by nearly two years, while China modestly advanced and India remained the same. Final Action Dates in the Other Workers category either remained the same or moved forward modestly. Similar movement was seen in the Dates for Filing for all categories and countries of birth. 

According to DOS, no immigrant visa numbers are available in the EB-1 category for India for the remainder of the fiscal year; therefore, the Final Action Date for that country of birth (India) was set to January 1, 2012, which is the oldest priority date of an EB-1 applicant. DOS does believe that upon the beginning of the new USCIS fiscal year in October, the Final Action Date will revert to “at least the [date] announced in the July Visa Bulletin,” but DOS cannot guarantee this will occur given the uncertainty regarding immigrant visa demand and availability. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed on its website that beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant petitions should use the Final Action Dates to determine eligibility to file adjustment of status (“green card”) applications.   
The EB-5 Unreserved category continues to show backlogs in the Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates for individuals born in China and India, but the dates remain unchanged from the July Visa Bulletin. All other EB-5 categories and countries of birth are current on both the Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates. 

The chart below indicates the changes in the Final Action Dates for the August 2023 Visa Bulletin relative to the July 2023 Visa Bulletin. Individuals with priority dates earlier than the dates listed may file for permanent residence. Also, individuals with priority dates earlier than the dates listed and have pending permanent residence applications may be approved for permanent residence because an immigrant visa is available to them. 

Foreign nationals who have priority dates current in July, but which will retrogress in August, should contact their Foster attorney if they have not yet filed for permanent residence or if they have a pending permanent residence application and have submitted their medical exam and completed their biometrics.

Foster LLP will continue to track immigrant visa availability and provide updates about any developments via Immigration Updates©, articles, and blogs on our website at www.fosterglobal.com.