US Visa Bulletin: Check the cutoff date for Green Card applications in Dec

The US Department of State last week released the December 2023 Visa Bulletin, providing a comprehensive overview of immigrant visa availability for both consular processing and adjustment of status applications in the upcoming month. According to the Visa Bulletin, the cutoff dates for Indian green card applications has remained unchanged. 

The visa bulletin serves as a comprehensive overview of immigrant visa availability, distinguishing between "Final Action Dates" and "Dates for Filing Applications." The former dictates when applicants can file for adjustment of status, while the latter guides the consular processing route. 

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), based on visa availability and demand chooses either the Dates for Filing or Application Final Action Dates. The bulletin covers both Employment-Based (EB) and Family-Based (FB) immigrant visas.

Applicants whose priority dates align with or precede the specified date can proceed to the next stage in their immigration proceedings, whether submitting an adjustment of status application or initiating the process for obtaining an immigrant visa from a consulate abroad.

Here's a breakdown of the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications for various regions: 

 

To be eligible for filing an EB adjustment application in December 2023, foreign nationals must possess a priority date earlier than the specified date for their preference category and country. A "C" listing indicates that the category is current, allowing applications to be filed irrespective of the priority date.

EB-1 Category: The Final Action Dates for India and China remain unchanged from November. India is set for January 1, 2017, and China for February 15, 2022, with all other countries remaining current. 

Dates for Filing visa applications for the EB-1 category: 

1. For India, the cutoff date remains July 1, 2019.
2. China's cutoff date is August 1, 2022.
3. Mexico, the Philippines, and All Chargeability Areas remain current.

EB-2 Category: India retains its Final Action Dates on January 1, 2012. Unchanged dates for all countries at June 15, 2022, except for China, which sees a slight advance of three weeks to October 22, 2019. 

The Dates for Filing visa applications for the EB-2 category in December 2023 are as follows:

1. India: The cutoff date is unchanged at May 15, 2012.
2. All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and the Philippines:
3. The cutoff date remains on January 1, 2023. China: The cutoff date remains on January 1, 2020.

EB-3 Professional/Skilled Workers: Final Action Dates for the EB-3 Professional/Skilled Workers preference category are as follows:

1. India: The cutoff date is May 1, 2012.
2. China: The cutoff date is January 22, 2020.
3. All other countries: The cutoff date is December 1, 2021.

In the EB-3 Professional/Skilled Workers preference category, the Dates for Filing in December 2023 are as follows:

India:

1. The cutoff date remains unchanged on August 1, 2012.
2. All Chargeability Areas and Mexico: The cutoff date remains February 1, 2023.
3. China: The cutoff date remains September 1, 2020.
4. The Philippines: The cutoff date remains on January 1, 2023.

You can check the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing for other categories in the tables below: 

 

 

Dates of filing for Family-Based Green Card 

In the Date of Filing chart, the dates are held on September 1, 2023, worldwide. Here is a snapshot of the Date of Filing for Indians: 

F-1 (Unmarried children aged 21 and older of US citizens): The cutoff date is September 1, 2017.

F-2A (Spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 of US Green Card holders): The cutoff date is September 1, 2023.

F-2B (Unmarried children aged 21 or older of US Green Card holders): The cutoff date is January 1, 2017.

F-3 (Married children of US citizens): The cutoff date is March 1, 2010.

F-4 (Siblings of US citizens): The cutoff date is February 22, 2006.

The Final Action Date chart for Family-Sponsored cases remains unchanged from the November 2023 visa bulletin. For the Final Action chart, the cutoff date stays at February 8, 2019, for all countries, and for Mexico, it remains at February 1, 2019. 

According to the Visa Bulletin, in fiscal year 2024, the family-sponsored preference immigrants are capped at 226,000, and employment-based preference immigrants have a minimum worldwide allocation of 140,000. The per-country limit for preference immigrants is 7 per cent of the total annual limits (25,620), with an additional 2 per cent (7,320) designated for dependent areas.