Current November 2022 Visa Bulletin Trend and U.S. Department of Labor Processing Times

1. U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin for November 2022 and USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts

According to the U.S. Department of State recently released Visa Bulletin for November 2022, there has been movement for the Date of Filing, but there has been a little movement in the Final Action Dates, as seen in the below charts from November 2022 Visa Bulletin:

1. Final Action Dates for Family-Sponsored Preference Cases:

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01DEC14	01DEC14	01DEC14	15NOV00	01MAR12
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	22SEP15	22SEP15	22SEP15	01JUN01	22OCT11
F3	22NOV08	22NOV08	22NOV08	01NOV97	08JUN02
F4	22MAR07	22MAR07	15SEP05	01AUG00	22AUG02

Please note, there are following Family Based Categories:

First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents:  114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:

A. (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents:  77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

B. (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents:  23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third: (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth: (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens:  65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

1. Dates for Filing Family-Sponsored Visa Applications:  

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	08AUG16	08AUG16	08AUG16	01DEC02	22APR15
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	01JAN17	01JAN17	01JAN17	01JAN02	01OCT13
F3	08NOV09	08NOV09	08NOV09	15JUN01	08NOV03
F4	15DEC07	15DEC07	22FEB06	01APR01	22APR04

1. Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases 

Employment- based	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland  born	EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08JUN19	C	01APR12	C	C
3rd	C	15JUN18	C	01APR12	C	C
Other Workers	01JUN20	01DEC12	01JUN20	01APR12	01JUN20	01JUN20
4th	C	C	15MAR18	C	15SEP20	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	15MAR18	C	15SEP20	C
5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	22MAR15	C	08NOV19	C	C
5th Set Aside: Rural (20%)	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%)	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%)	C	C	C	C	C	C

                       C – Means Current and U – Means Unauthorized for Issuance.

Please note, there are following Employment Based Green Card Categories:

First:  Priority Workers:  28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.

Second:  Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability:  28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.

Third:  Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers:  28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to “*Other Workers”.

Fourth:  Certain Special Immigrants:  7.1% of the worldwide level.

Fifth:  Employment Creation:  7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of Pub. L. 102-395.

1. Dates for Filing of Employment-Based Visa Applications

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland  born	EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08JUL19	C	01MAY12	C	C
3rd	C	15JUL18	C	01JUL12	C	C
Other Workers	08SEP22	01NOV15	08SEP22	01JUL12	08SEP22	08SEP22
4th	C	C	15APR18	C	15OCT20	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	15APR18	C	15OCT20	C
5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	01JAN16	C	08DEC19	C	C
5th Set Aside: (Rural – 20%)	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: (High Unemployment – 10%)	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: (Infrastructure – 2%)	C	C	C	C	C	C

• U.S. Department of Labor Processing Times

The U.S. Department of Labor recently posted processing times for the Prevailing Wage Determination along with other requests. The Prevailing Wage Determination request (PWD) needs to be filed with the DOL and the same needs to be certified by the DOL prior to the submission of the PERM Application. The Prevailing Wage Determination is the first step in the PERM Process. Also, per the Prevailing Wage Determination Processing Times published by DOL in the below chart, the PWD request is backlogged.

Processing Queue	OES Receipt Datei	Non-OES Receipt Datei
CW-1	July 2022	N/A
H-1B	January 2022	February 2022
H-2B	July 2022	May 2022
PERM	January 2022	December 2021
Redeterminations	H-1B: April 2022 PERM: April 2022
Center Director Reviews	CW-1: None Pending H-1B: None Pending H-2B: July 2022 PERM: July 2022

The above dates reflect the month and year in which applications were filed (request date) or submission date of the appeal request for Redeterminations or Center Director Review. 

In addition, the PERM Processing times are as follows:

Processing Queue	Priority Date
Analyst Review	February 2022
Audit Review	November 2021
Reconsideration Request to the CO	May 2022

Disclaimer

This article aims to provide new information concerning current US DOL Processing times and November  2022 visa bulletin. This article, under no circumstances, acts as legal advice; therefore, for any immigration questions, please contact your Attorney or the Ahluwalia Law Offices, P.C. (Team ALO).