The FP Visa Bulletin for January: Dates for Filing and an Employer’s Immigration Action Plan

Each month, federal immigration authorities publish a list of dates informing immigrant visa applicants when they should expect to be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to government officials. This Insight reviews January’s release to help employers determine whether and when you should provide corresponding notifications to any of your foreign-national employees to assist their efforts. You’ll also find a specific action plan so you can adapt your immigration strategy given this month’s information. If you want to ensure you follow compliant processes to address your critical workforce needs in a timely manner, read on.

January Dates: An Overview

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will follow the State Department’s Dates for Filing chart published in the January Visa Bulletin to determine whether candidates are eligible to submit an Adjustment of Status application on Form I-485 for that month. Dates which appear in this chart must be compared with an employee’s Immigration Priority Date shown on their EB-1/2/3 I-140 approval notice with their current employer to determine eligibility.

Significant Movement for Some Employment Based Visa Categories

There was movement for many Employment-Based Preferences Classes, including significant movement in the EB-1 category for China and India. Notable changes include:

• EB-1 India progressed by 18 months to January 1, 2021
• EB-1 China progressed by five months to January 1, 2023
• EB-2 China progressed by five months to June 1, 2020
• EB-3 China progressed by ten months to July 1, 2021

Dates for Filing Chart

The recently announced Dates for Filing for EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 appear in the table below. Please note this table can always change, so check here for the most accurate and updated information before acting on these dates.  

Preference	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
EB-1	Current	1/1/23	1/1/21	Current	Current
EB-2	2/15/23	6/1/20	5/15/12	2/15/23	2/15/23
EB-3	2/1/23	7/1/21	8/1/12	2/1/23	1/1/23

What Should You Do? Your Action Plan

For January, USCIS is using the Dates for Filing chart. This means an Adjustment of Status may be filed for anyone with a priority date that is current. However, USCIS will not begin processing the case until the Final Action Date is current. While overall processing will be delayed, a filing application will be in the queue and USCIS will process requests for EAD cards and Advanced Parole.

If you have employees who have priority dates that will be current in January, you should reach out to your immigration attorney to prepare and submit their Adjustment of Status Application in January.

Conclusion

We will continue to monitor developments from immigration officials and provide similar guidance monthly. Make sure you are subscribed to Fisher Phillips’ Insight System to get the most up-to-date information – including next month’s FP Visa Bulletin. If you have any questions, please contact your Fisher Phillips attorney, the author of this Insight, or any attorney in our Immigration Practice Group.