17 Apr 2023 The May 2023 Priority Dates: Employment Dates Retrogress!
Each month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month for the various family and employment-based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off dates listed below in the Visa Issuance or Final Action Date column. If your priority date was “current,” but later retrogressed (or “moved backwards” and became unavailable) before your immigrant visa was issued (or before you adjusted status in the U.S.), you would have to wait until it becomes current again. In fact, per the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for employment-based second and third preference categories retrogressed in May 2023 “to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2023 annual limit”. In other words, there are too many people applying for visas in these categories in relation to the remaining annual supply. So, the priority date is moved backwards to limit demand, or the number of people eligible.
Caution: If your Final Action/Visa Issuance date has been current for more than a year and you were notified by the National Visa Center (NVC), but did not respond, you could risk your case being canceled or terminated, or your child could lose age-out protection under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).
The priority dates for the Philippines for May 2023 are:
| FAMILY CATEGORY: | Application Filing Date | Visa Issuance Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Preference | Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (21 years old or older) | April 22, 2015 | March 01, 2012 |
| Second Preference | (2A) Spouse and minor children (below 21 years old) of green card holders | CURRENT | September 8, 2020 |
| (2B) Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years old or older) of green card holders | October 01, 2013 | October 22, 2011 | |
| Third Preference | Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens | November 08, 2003 | June 08, 2002 |
| Fourth Preference | Brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens | April 22, 2004 | August 22, 2002 |
| LABOR CERTIFICATION: | Application Filing Date | Visa Issuance Date | |
| Second Preference | Advanced Degree (Masters) | December 01, 2022 | February 15, 2022 |
| Third Preference | Professional/ Skilled Workers | May 1, 2023 | June 1, 2022 |
| Other workers | Non-Skilled Workers | February 01, 2020 | January 01, 2020 |
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