June 2023 Visa Bulletin Brings Warning of EB-3 Final Action Date Retrogression for India

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has released the June 2023 Visa Bulletin and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that it will accept employment-based I-485 adjustment of status applications per the bulletin’s Final Action Dates chart.

Quick Hits

Final action dates remained unchanged except for retrogression for EB-5 (India) and slight advancement for EB-3 Other Workers (China–mainland born).
The final action date for the EB-5 Unreserved category (including C5, T5, I5, and R5) for India will retrogress to April 1, 2017.
The EB-3 final action date for India may retrogress as early as July 2023 due to continued high demand.

As shown in the chart below, the final action dates in the June 2023 Visa Bulletin remain unchanged from the May 2023 Visa Bulletin in almost all categories, with the only exceptions being retrogression (to April 1, 2017) in the 5th Preference (EB-5) Unreserved category (India) and slight advancement (to September 1, 2015) in the 3rd Preference (EB-3) Other Workers category (China–mainland born).

Source: U.S. Department of State, June 2023 Visa Bulletin

The June 2023 Visa Bulletin is the latest in a line of visa bulletins in recent months that have brought regressions and slowdowns, reflecting an overall trend of backlogs in the employment-based visa process.

The June 2023 Visa Bulletin has also brought a predictive note from the State Department: the EB-3 final action date for India could retrogress as early as July 2023. According to the State Department, “[s]teady number use and high demand” in the EB-3 category for India will likely “necessitate” imminent retrogression of the final action date in order to keep EB-3 use within the annual limit for the 2023 fiscal year.

Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will continue to monitor developments with respect to these and other policy changes and will post updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available. Important information for employers is also available via the firm’s webinar and podcast programs. Please also follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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