The U.S. State Department released the February Visa Bulletin, showing no movement in Dates for Filing in key employment-based categories. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it would use the Dates for Filing chart to determine employment-based filing eligibility.

Dates for Filing for Employment-Based Preference Cases:

Preference All Other Countries China India Mexico Philippines
EB-1 Current Jan. 1, 2023 Jan. 1, 2021 Current Current
EB-2 Feb. 15, 2023 June 1, 2020 May 15, 2012 Feb. 15, 2023 Feb. 15, 2023
EB-3 Feb. 1, 2023 July 1, 2021 Aug. 1, 2012 Feb. 1, 2023 Jan. 1, 2023

Additional Information: The lack of movement in the February Dates for Filing follows significant forward movement in some key categories in January. February will mark the fifth consecutive month that USCIS has used Dates for Filing to determine employment-based filing eligibility. This is welcome news given that the Dates for Filing Chart generally has more progressive cutoff dates than the Final Action Dates chart. BAL will continue monitoring the Visa Bulletin and will provide updates as information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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