The US Department of State published an update in its April 2023 Visa Bulletin , which shows changes in the final action and application filing dates for the EB-4 category for all countries .
Our New Jersey immigration law firm stands ready to help clients successfully navigate the country’s complex immigration procedures. Therefore, if you have any kind of inconvenience on these issues, do not hesitate to contact us beforehand.
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Announcement About The Retrogression In The EB-4 Category For All Countries
According to the Visa Bulletin update, fourth preference immigrant visa applications from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala will now be in the column: “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed.”
- The statement clarified that this update is necessary for the assignment of an EB-4 visa number that complies with all immigration laws.
- Similarly, the law is clear regarding the restriction on the number of immigrant visas issued to foreign nationals of certain countries. As a result, it only activates in certain limited circumstances.
- Likewise, the resulting adjustments in the bulletin account for the expected demand in each of these 3 countries for a request for employment or a US family-based immigration petition.
- Because of this, combining these countries with the rest of the world pushed the EB-4 final action date for “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed” back to April 1, 2023.
This affects all current Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) clients. Therefore, they will only be able to adjust their status in the United States if they have been granted Form I-360, petition for Amerasian, widow(er), or special immigrant.
The latter is regardless of the country where the immigrant comes from, if their priority date is October 1, 2018.
How Long Must An Applicant Under The EB-4 Category Wait For A Visa Number To Become Available?
The length of time an EB-4 visa applicant must wait for a visa number to become available will depend on:
- The priority date and
- The number of applicants with prior priority dates.
Therefore, applicants under the final action date of April 2023 should be aware that the final action date has been regressed, so they must wait longer for a visa number to become available.
This is in comparison to the final action dates in the March 2023 visa bulletin. Alternatively, applicants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, should expect a shorter wait time.
Update In the Waiting Time For The EB-4 Category
The EB-4 special immigrant category presented a significant retrogression for each country until September 1, 2018. This means that there is a modification in the waiting time for:
- General category: – 3 years with 5 months.
- China: – 3 years and 5 months.
- Philippines: – 3 years with 5 months.
- India: – 2 years with 6 months.
- Mexico: – 1 year with 5 months.
- Central America: – 5 months with 17 days.
Therefore, immigrants seeking to obtain a Green Card should keep track of current (and future) changes in the Visa Bulletin.
That is why it is always advisable to prepare in advance all the necessary documents for this application.
This is because if you do not apply in the month where a visa number is available, you risk facing a retrogression in the next bulletin.
Our firm is willing to help all those immigrants in complex scenarios, especially those who are most vulnerable. For example, unaccompanied immigrant minors.
How Can Our Ridgewood, New Jersey Immigration Law Firm Help You?
Our team of immigration professionals at Curbelo Law; led by attorney Carolina T. Curbelo, has helped hundreds of aliens successfully navigate these processes.
Our attorney has more than 10 years of successful experience representing her clients in complex US immigration procedures. For example, obtaining a Green Card or the process to obtain American citizenship.
Therefore, all those national foreigners who are looking for the best possible legal advice on US immigration matters should not hesitate to contact us beforehand. To do this, they can do it by:
- Calling directly to our phone line,
- By email, or
- Booking an appointment with our office, located in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
