A. U.S. Department of State Visa bulletin for March 2022 and USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts
According to the U.S. Department of State recently released Visa Bulletin for March 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 March 2022 Visa Bulletin:
I. 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 | 08SEP99 | 01MAR12 |
| F2A | C | C | C | C | C |
| F2B | 22SEP15 | 22SEP15 | 22SEP15 | 01SEP00 | 22OCT11 |
| F3 | 22NOV08 | 22NOV08 | 22NOV08 | 15SEP97 | 08JUN02 |
| F4 | 22MAR07 | 22MAR07 | 15SEP05 | 22APR99 | 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.
II. Dates for Filing Family-Sponsored Visa Applications:
| Family- Sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 15MAY16 | 15MAY16 | 15MAY16 | 01APR01 | 22APR15 |
| F2A | 01DEC21 | 01DEC21 | 01DEC21 | 01DEC21 | 01DEC21 |
| F2B | 22SEP16 | 22SEP16 | 22SEP16 | 01APR01 | 01OCT13 |
| F3 | 22AUG09 | 22AUG09 | 22AUG09 | 01MAR01 | 01OCT03 |
| F4 | 01OCT07 | 01OCT07 | 01JAN06 | 01SEP00 | 01FEB04 |
| 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 | 01MAR19 | C | 01MAY13 | C | C |
| 3rd | C | 22MAR18 | C | 15JAN12 | C | C |
| Other Workers | C | 01MAY12 | C | 15JAN12 | C | C |
| 4th | C | C | 01MAY17 | C | 01APR20 | C |
| Certain Religious Workers | U | U | U | U | U | U |
| 5th Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) | C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Regional Center (I5 and R5) | U | U | U | U | U | U |
III. Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases
- 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.
IV. 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 | 01APR19 | C | 01SEP13 | C | C |
| 3rd | C | 01APR18 | C | 22JAN12 | C | C |
| Other Workers | C | 01JUN15 | C | 22JAN12 | C | C |
| 4th | C | C | 15JUN17 | C | C | C |
| Certain Religious Workers | C | C | 15JUN17 | C | C | C |
| 5th Non-Regional Center (C5 and T5) | C | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Regional Center (I5 and R5) | C | 15DEC15 | C | C | C | C |
In addition, for the month of March 2022, as per USCIS:
- The F2A category applicants may file using the Final Action Dates chart for March 2022.
- All other family-sponsored preference categories, one must use the Dates for Filing Chart for March 2022.
- All employment-based preference categories, one must use the Dates of filing chart for March 2022. Please note, USCIS will not accept any new employment-based fifth preference adjustment of status applications based on the Regional Center Program until that program is reauthorized.
B. 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 Date | Non-OES Receipt Date |
| CW-1 | December 2021 | N/A |
| H-1B | August 2021 | May 2021 |
| H-2B | December 2021 | December 2021 |
| PERM | August 2021 | April 2021 |
| Redeterminations | H-1B: January 2022 PERM: December 2021 | |
| Center Director Reviews | CW-1: None Pending H-1B: None Pending H-2B: December 2021 PERM: December 2021 |
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 | August 2021- January 2022 |
| Audit Review | April 2021- January 2022 |
| Reconsideration Request to the CO | August 2021 |
At present on an average the DOL is taking 169 days to certify the PERM without Audit review. And if there is an Audit review, then DOL is taking 310 days to certify the PERM. Currently DOL is processing January 2022 PERM applications.
We will regularly update the blog as soon as any new information is available.
Disclaimer
This article aims to provide new information concerning current US DOL Processing times and March 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).
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