August 2022 Visa Bulletin

The August 2022 Visa Bulletin was released. The is movement in many categories of this month's bulletin. Most notable, is the approximately 3 month advancement for the F2B Filing Date for All Areas except for Mexico and the Philippines. The EB5 China Filing Date also moved about 2 months. Read below to get up to date on other categories and the results of the Diversity Visa Lottery 2023.

Commentary:

August 2022 

For all countries except India, China, Philippines, and Mexico: F1 category remains at December 1 2014; F2A category priority date remains current, F2B preference remains at a PD of 22 September 2015, F4 category remains at 22 March 2007; EB1 remains current; EB2 remains current; and EB3 remains current. 

For India only: F2A category remains current, F2B preference remains at 22 September 2015, F4 remains a PD of 15 September 2005; EB1 remains current; EB2 remains at 1 December 2014; EB3 advances 31 days to 22 February 2012; All EB5 visas are current.

For China only: EB1 remains current; EB2 remains at 1 April 2019; EB3 advances 30 days to 22 April 2018; All EB5 Non-Regional Center are now current  except for the EB5 Unreserved (I5 and R5) China remains PD date of 22 November 2015. 

Vietnam is not individually listed and should use all countries category.

Can file your immigrant applications if PD before: 

F2A Current; F2B advances 108 days to 17 January 2017 for All Areas, except Mexico remains at 1 August 2001 and Philippines remains at 1 October 2013 ; F4 advances 37 days to 15 December 2007 for All Areas, except India remains at 22 February 2006, Mexico remains at 15 March 2001, and Philippines remains 22 April 2004 .

EB1 Current for all countries, including China and India; EB2 All countries except India and China are current; EB3 Current for all countries except India and China; EB2 India remains at 15 January 15; EB3 India 22 January 2012; EB2 China remains at 1 May 2019; EB3 China advances 51 days to 22 May 2018; EB5 China (C5, T5, I5, R5 ) remains at 22 December 2015; All other EB5 China remain Current; Vietnam is not individually listed and should use the all countries category.

Notes copied from the Department of State regarding Visa availability:

D.  DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY 2023 (DV-2023) RESULTS

The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the selectees who are eligible to participate in the DV-2023 Diversity Visa (DV) program.  Random selection of DV participants was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes up to *55,000 permanent resident visas available annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.  Approximately 119,262 prospective applicants (i.e., selectees and their spouses and children) have been registered, notified, and may be eligible to make an application for an immigrant visa. Since selection is blind to the number of family members who might immigrate with the selectee, and it is likely that some of the selectees will not complete their cases or will be found ineligible for a visa, this larger figure should ensure that all DV-2023 numbers can be used during fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022, until September 30, 2023).

Entrants registered for the DV-2023 program were selected at random from 9,570,291 qualified entries received during the 35-day application period that ran from noon, Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, until noon, Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.  The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximum of seven percent available to persons born in any single country.  During the visa interview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years.  Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly.  Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fully complete all required steps.

Selectees who are physically present with legal status in the United States may apply to adjust their status by first contacting the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for information on the requirements and procedures.  Once the total *55,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2023 will end.  Selectees who do not receive visas by September 30, 2023, will derive no further benefit from their DV-2023 registration.  Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2023 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2023.

Dates for the DV-2024 program registration period will be widely publicized in the coming months.  Those interested in entering the DV-2024 program should check the Department of State’s Diversity Visa web page in the coming months.

*The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program.  This will result in reduction of the DV-2023 annual limit to approximately 54,850.

The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign state of chargeability of those registered for the DV-2023 program:

AFRICA

ALGERIA  5,526

ESWATINI  5

MOZAMBIQUE  2

ANGOLA  422

ETHIOPIA  2,761

NAMIBIA  6

BENIN  404

GABON  45

NIGER  78

BOTSWANA  9

GAMBIA, THE  65

RWANDA  1,024

BURKINA FASO 137

GHANA  3,398

SENEGAL  253

BURUNDI  400

GUINEA  706

SIERRA LEONE  522

CABO VERDE  24

GUINEA-BISSAU  9

SOMALIA  1,541

CAMEROON  2,392

KENYA  3,417

SOUTH AFRICA  222

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC  19

LIBERIA  1,221

SOUTH SUDAN  53

CHAD  257

LIBYA  397

SUDAN  4,863

COMOROS  3

MADAGASCAR  21

TANZANIA  165

CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE  4,385

MALAWI  23

TOGO  1,036

CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE  389

MALI  90

TUNISIA  168

COTE D’IVOIRE  552

MAURITANIA  174

UGANDA  1,044

DJIBOUTI  249

MAURITIUS  1

ZAMBIA  59

EGYPT  5,529

MOROCCO  4,469

ZIMBABWE  202

EQUATORIAL GUINEA  4

  Western Sahara  2

ERITREA  376

ASIA

AFGHANISTAN  2,724

JORDAN  937

QATAR  92

BAHRAIN  10

KOREA, NORTH  2

SAUDI ARABIA  658

BHUTAN  115

KUWAIT  118

SINGAPORE  11

BURMA  1,107

LAOS  13

SRI LANKA  2,019

CAMBODIA  397

LEBANON  249

SYRIA  381

INDONESIA  115

MALAYSIA  45

TAIWAN  188

IRAN  5,506

MALDIVES  1

THAILAND  685

IRAQ  1,300

MONGOLIA  296

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES  175

ISRAEL  66

NEPAL  3,808

YEMEN  2,807

JAPAN  194

OMAN  25

EUROPE

ALBANIA  2,001

GREECE  28

NORTHERN IRELAND  4

ARMENIA  3,525

HUNGARY  66

NORWAY  4

AUSTRIA  34

ICELAND  4

POLAND  228

AZERBAIJAN  1,260

IRELAND  13

PORTUGAL  10

BELARUS  1,535

ITALY  154

  Macau  7

BELGIUM  32

KAZAKHSTAN  1,908

ROMANIA  228

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA  47

KOSOVO  413

RUSSIA  5,505

BULGARIA  161

KYRGYZSTAN  2,846

SERBIA  134

CROATIA  12

LATVIA  48

SLOVAKIA 20

CYPRUS  8

LITHUANIA  91

SLOVENIA  2

CZECH REPUBLIC  19

MALTA  8

SPAIN  96

DENMARK  12

MOLDOVA  670

SWEDEN  26

  Faroe Islands  1

MONTENEGRO  28

SWITZERLAND  27

ESTONIA  17

NETHERLANDS  19

TAJIKISTAN  2,485

FINLAND  14

  Aruba  4

TURKEY  3,383

FRANCE  209

  Curacao  1

TURKMENISTAN  555

GEORGIA 2,071

  Sint Maarten  3

UKRAINE  3,808

GERMANY 512

NORTH MACEDONIA  258

UZBEKISTAN 5,511

NORTH AMERICA

BAHAMAS, THE  16

OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA  461

NAURU  3

SAMOA  5

  Cocos Keeling Islands  3

NEW ZEALAND 173

TONGA  78

FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA  4

  Cook Islands  6

TUVALU  5

FIJI  1,718

PAPUA NEW GUINEA  21

VANUATU  21

KIRABATI  2

REPUBLIC OF PALAU  3

SOUTH AMERICA

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA  3

DOMINICA  4

PERU  1,191

ARGENTINA  133

ECUADOR  466

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS  2

BELIZE  4

GUATEMALA  84

SAINT LUCIA  3

BOLIVIA  46

GUYANA  15

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES  1

CHILE  27

NICARAGUA  77

SURINAME  4

COSTA RICA  39

PANAMA  11

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO  31

CUBA  1,358

PARAGUAY  9

URUGUAY  7

Natives of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2023: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

E.  ESTABLISHMENT OF FAMILY SECOND A PREFERENCE FINAL ACTION DATE

Readers were advised in item G of the June 2022 Visa Bulletin that due to steady number use in the F2A category, a final action date might need to be established as early as August.  Number use has remained steady and is estimated to reach 75% of the overall F2A category limit in August.  Therefore, it has become necessary to establish a final action date to control further use of the 75% of F2A numbers exempt from per-country limits under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

F2A numbers exempt from per-country limits are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 22APR19.  F2A numbers subject to per-country limits are available to applicants chargeable to all countries except Mexico with priority dates on or after 22APR19.  All F2A numbers provided for Mexico are exempt from the per-country limit.

The situation will continually be monitored, and numbers exempt from the per-country limit are expected to once again be available for all applicants beginning October 1, 2022, under the FY-2023 annual numerical limitations.

F.  FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON VISA PROCESSING AT U.S. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, PLEASE VISIT THE BUREAU OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS WEBSITE AT TRAVEL.STATE.GOV

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