Client Payment Portal

State Department Releases January Visa Bulletin – Charlie Oppenheim Comments

Dec 21, 2022 | Human Resources Services, Individual Services, Investor Visas

The State Department has released the January Visa Bulletin. Below are highlights along with commentary from WR Immigration’s Director of Visa Consulting Charlie Oppenheim on the Visa Bulletin updates, many of which he predicted in his December 15, 2022, “Chatting with Charlie” webinar.

Related: Chatting with Charlie webinar series continues in January! See upcoming dates>>

EB-1: All countries remain current, except for India and China, which as predicted during the December 15 Chatting with Charlie, an EB-1 Final Action Date (FAD) of February 1, 2022 has been imposed for both India and China and an Application Filing Date (AFD) for adjustment filing for cases with priority dates earlier than June 1, 2022.

USCIS will publish on its Visa Bulletin web page whether they will allow either the AFD or FAD to be used for the filing of adjustment of status applications for January.

EB-2: The India EB-2 India FAD remains unchanged at October 8, 2011, and the India AFD remains unchanged at May 1, 2012. China EB-2 remains unchanged at June 8, 2019. All other countries stay on November 1, 2022.

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: The India EB-3 FAD will remains unchanged at June 15, 2012, and the AFD remains unchanged at August 1, 2012. The China EB-3 FAD remains unchanged at August 1, 2018, and the AFD stays on September 1, 2018.

EB-4:
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras: March 15, 2018
Mexico: September 15, 2020
All other countries: June 22, 2022
The Certain Religious Workers (SR) category will become unavailable if no legislative action extending SR category beyond December 23, 2022.

EB-5: EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), China FAD remains unchanged at March 22, 2015, and India remains unchanged at November 8, 2019. All other countries remain current for January 2023.

The EB-5 Reserved Set-Asides categories that include Rural (20%), High Unemployment (10%), and Infrastructure (2%) will remain current for all countries including China and India, allowing applicants to file concurrent adjustments in the U.S if in lawful status and if eligible for Section 245(k) filing, and in certain circumstances even if they have up to 180 days of unlawful status.

Parting Thoughts from Charlie: The State Department’s delay in the posting of the January Visa Bulletin may have been a result of their wishing to receive more data on December number use patterns before making a final determination of the January dates.  If so, then there may be posting delays in some future months for similar reasons.    

Chatting with Charlie webinar series continues in January! See upcoming dates and register now>>

Related Posts:

5 Things to Know About USCIS’ New Policy on Expedite Criteria

By:  Joseph Barnett and Afshan Randera On May 10, 2019, USCIS updated its policy on Expedite Requests, effective immediately.  We previously blogged about expedite processing requests in the context of EB-5 applications, but this new policy applies to the adjudication of an application or petition for an immigration benefit by USCIS, though some exceptions apply.  Here are five things to know about requesting an expedite of an application or petition by USCIS:  1. Criteria. The criteria have been narrowed, and USCIS will only consider an expedite request if it meets one of the following criteria: (a) urgent humanitarian reasons; (b) compelling U.S. government interests (such as public safety and national security interests); (c) an error on the part of USCIS; or (d) severe financial loss to a company or person. 2. Severe Financial Loss. While documentation is required to support any expedite request, USCIS states that where a company or individual claims “severe financial loss,” the actual loss must be documented, and the requestor must demonstrate that he/she/it is not able to withstand the temporary financial loss that is the natural result of normal processing times.    Additionally, “severe financial loss” is not warranted if the petitioner or applicant failed to file the benefit request in a reasonable time […]

Read More

Beyond the EB-5 Visa Waiting Line: E-2 Visa Options for Mainland-Chinese Entrepreneurs

By: Bernard Wolfsdorf and Joseph Barnett The EB-5 visa waiting line for mainland-Chinese has become so long that many Chinese nationals are now seeking other ways to enter the U.S. often so their children may study at U.S. universities.  Some are investigating obtaining U.S. permanent residence through the EB-1C category for multinational managers or executives (or the related nonimmigrant L-1 visa). Other have decided to explore nonimmigrant E-1 treaty trader, or E-2 treaty investor visas. There are 80 countries with treaties, but mainland China and India do not qualify (although citizens of Pakistan and Taiwan do qualify). For the E-treaty visa, the applicant must have obtained citizenship from an E Treaty Country. One country that has become popular for E-2 treaty purposes is Grenada because of its “Citizenship by Investment Program”.  In this scenario, obtaining an E-visa is a two-step process:  First, the person needs to qualify for the Grenada passport, and then, the person must make an investment in the U.S. to qualify for a U.S. E-2 visa. Here are five important things to know about the E-2 visa option. Grenada Citizenship. The first step for a mainland-Chinese national is to obtain Grenada citizenship through the 2013 Grenada Citizenship by Investment Act. This law […]

Read More