Visa Bulletin for December 2023
Finberg Firm
The U.S. Department of State has released its December 2023 Visa Bulletin which summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers for “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications” for December to notify the immigrant visa applicants to submit their required documentation to the National Visa Center (NVC).
Final Action Cut-off Dates
The recent visa bulletin shows minimal changes. All mentioned cutoff dates pertain to the final action chart, commonly known as Chart A, unless stated differently.
Employment-Based First Preference (EB1)
The EB1 category remains unchanged. China’s cutoff is still February 15, 2022, and India’s cutoff remains January 1, 2017. All other chargeable countries are currently up-to-date in the EB1 category.
Employment-Based Second Preference (EB2)
The EB2 cutoff for China advances to October 22, 2019 while India remains January 1, 2012. The cutoff for EB2 in other chargeable countries, Mexico, and Philippines stays at July 15, 2022.
Employment-Based Third Preference (EB3)
China’s cutoff advances to January 22, 2020, while India’s remains May 1, 2012. For other chargeable countries, the EB3 cutoff remains December 1, 2021.
Other Workers
China’s cutoff persists at January 1, 2016, while India and Philippines remains May 1, 2012 and May 1, 2020, respectively. The cutoff for other chargeable countries in this category remains August 1, 2020.
Dates for Filing of Employment-Based Visa Applications
To be eligible to file an EB adjustment application for December 2023, a foreign individual should possess a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their designated country and category. The “C” listing denotes a current category, thus allowing submissions without concern for the priority date of the individual. The listing of a date for any category indicates that only applicants with a priority date that is earlier than the listed date may file their applications.
| Employment-Based | All Chargeability Areas Except those listed | China-Mainland born | India | Mexico | Philippines |
| 1st (EB-1: Extraordinary People, Outstanding Researchers and Professors, and Multinational Executives, and Managers) | C | 01AUG22 | 01JUL19 | C | C |
| 2nd (EB-2: Exceptional People and Advanced Degree Holders) | 01JAN23 | 01JAN20 | 15MAY12 | 01JAN23 | 01JAN23 |
| 3rd (EB-3: Bachelor’s Degree Holders, Skilled Workers, and Unskilled Workers) | 01FEB23 | 01SEP20 | 01AUG12 | 01FEB23 | 01JAN23 |
| Other Workers | 15DEC20 | 01JUN17 | 01AUG12 | 15DEC20 | 15MAY20 |
Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1)
All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and Philippines’ EB-1 remain current while China and India stay at August 1, 2022 and July 1, 2019, respectively. This means that all applicants who are chargeable to these areas whose I-485 applications have not yet been filed and have a priority date before August 1, 2022 and July 1, 2019 can file their I-485 applications with the USCIS.
Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2)
The EB-2 cutoff application date for All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and the Philippines remain January 1, 2023 which means that all applicants who are chargeable to these areas whose I-485 applications have not yet been filed and have a priority date before January 1, 2023 can file their I-485 applications with the USCIS.
Further, EB-2 cut off dates for India and China remain January 1, 2020, and May 15, 2012, respectively.
Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3)
The EB-3 cutoff date for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico remain February 1, 2023 which means that all applicants who are chargeable to these areas whose I-485 applications have not yet been filed and have a priority date before February 1, 2023 can file their I-485 applications with the USCIS.
Further, EB3 cut-off dates for the Philippines stays at January 1, 2023, while the EB-3 cut off dates for India and China remain August 1, 2012 and September 1, 2020, respectively.
Other Workers
All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and the Philippines whose applications have not yet been filed and have a priority date before December 15, 2020 can file their I-485 applications with the USCIS.
The Other Workers cutoff dates for China will remain June 1, 2017 while the cut-off date for India will also remain August 1, 2012.