The September 2023 Visa Bulletin will be the last visa bulletin of the 2023 fiscal year, which brings some questions around whether or not we can expect to see any forward movement in priority dates in the release. Typically, number use limits are reached or are close to being reached by September as the fiscal year ends on September 30, 2023. On October 1, 2023, the 2024 fiscal year will begin and visa numbers will reset.
Note
The September 2023 Visa Bulletin has been released! See the full results and our analysis of the latest visa bulletin here.
In the August 2023 Visa Bulletin, the USCIS included additional comments at the end of the bulletin forewarning a few priority date changes that could come in September’s bulletin. Let’s take a look at what we can expect to see in the September 2023 Visa Bulletin, set to release in the next couple of weeks.
September 2023 Visa Bulletin Predictions
Retrogression in the F2B Category
The USCIS reported in the August 2023 Visa Bulletin that number use in the F2B category has been steady throughout the fiscal year and that priority dates may retrogress in this category for ROW, India, and China in September.
Worldwide EB1 Final Action Date
Due to very high demand in the EB1 category across all countries, a worldwide final action date was established in the August 2023 Visa Bulletin. This is likely to remain this way in September’s bulletin, although the USCIS does say that it could possibly return to a “Current” status in October’s bulletin.
India EB1, EB2, and EB3
The USCIS has already made it clear that India is oversubscribed, which means that they have used all of their visa numbers and are not able to use extra fees unused from other countries. Due to this, there will likely be no movement in India EB1, EB2, or EB3 in the September 2023 Visa Bulletin. Hopefully, we will see some forward movement in these categories in the October 2023 Visa Bulletin when visa numbers reset.
What is the Visa Bulletin and Where to Find It
The visa bulletin is a monthly publication released by the U.S. Department of State and the USCIS, which provides important information regarding immigrant visa availability for various categories and countries. It outlines the cutoff dates for visa applications, determining when foreign nationals can apply for a green card or permanent residency based on their priority date and preference category.
Each month’s visa bulletin can be found on the Travel.State.Gov website and is typically released around the second week of the previous month. For example, the September visa bulletin would be available around the 2nd week of August. The date of the visa bulletin’s release fluctuates and can change month to month.
In last year’s September 2022 Visa Bulletin, there was no movement forward or backward across the board for all categories and preferences. This is likely due to the closeness to the end of the fiscal year and number use being reached for certain categories and preferences.
While September 2023 Visa Bulletin may not be a great bulletin month, we hope that October 2023 will give us a better idea of priority dates for the fiscal year 2024 and forward progress in the green card backlog.
