On Oct. 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) published the November 2023 Visa Bulletin. This bulletin reflects little movement from the October 2023 Visa Bulletin and no movement in the employment-based Dates for Filing chart, which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it would continue to use for employment-based and family-based adjustments of status.
Please see below for the November 2023 Dates for Filing of Employment-Based Visa Applications Chart:
| Employment- based | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 01AUG22 | 01JUL19 | C | C |
| 2nd | 01JAN23 | 01JAN20 | 15MAY12 | 01JAN23 | 01JAN23 |
| 3rd | 01FEB23 | 01SEP20 | 01AUG12 | 01FEB23 | 01JAN23 |
| Other Workers | 15DEC20 | 01JUN17 | 01AUG12 | 15DEC20 | 15MAY20 |
| 4th | 01MAR19 | 01MAR19 | 01MAR19 | 01MAR19 | 01MAR19 |
| Certain Religious Workers | 01MAR19 | 01MAR19 | 01MAR19 | 01MAR19 | 01MAR19 |
| 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5) | C | 01JAN17 | 01APR22 | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (Rural – 20%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (High Unemployment – 10%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (Infrastructure – 2%) | C | C | C | C | C |
The lack of movement in the chart comes on the heels of key advancements in the October 2023 Visa Bulletin—the first Visa Bulletin of the new fiscal year (FY 2024).
As reported in our September 2023 blog post, USCIS stated that the number of employment-based green cards to be issued in FY 2024 is expected to be much lower than in FY 2023 and FY 2022. As a result, there may be less advancement in the visa bulletin during the upcoming fiscal year and a greater chance for retrogression towards the end of FY 2024.