For the multitude of individuals earnestly anticipating their turn within the employment-based and family-based visa queues, the forecasted visa bulletin, also known as green card predictions, provides them with a semblance of when they can anticipate submitting applications for and attaining green cards.

The U.S. State Department has recently issued the September Visa Bulletin.

It’s projected that around 197,000 green cards will be allocated to individuals in employment categories for Fiscal Year 2023. This figure is a decrease from the 281,507 issued in FY 2022. However, it notably surpasses the legally mandated 140,000 benchmark, attributed to the unutilized family-based green cards numbering 57,000 from Fiscal Year 2022.

The Visa Bulletin for September 2023, as presented by the State Department, highlights backlogs in the issuance of green cards across both family and employment-based categories. The duration required to secure a green card depends upon the category of one’s petition and their country of birth. Updated on a monthly basis, the Visa Bulletin serves as a reference point for green card prediction.

Visa Bulletin Predictions is divided into the following sub-topics:

Visa Bulletin Predictions – Family-Based Categories
Visa Bulletin Predictions – Employment-Based Categories
Immigration Success Stories

Family-Based Categories – Visa Bulletin Predictions for October 2023

These projections regarding the visa bulletin are estimations rooted in recent movements observed within the family-based categories. It is crucial to underscore that these estimations are not to be misconstrued as legal counsel. They provide an insight into the anticipated progression or regression of the Final Action Dates in the forthcoming month for green card prediction.

F-1 – Unmarried Adult Sons & Daughters of US Citizens

Mexico: 4-8 weeks
Philippines: 4-8 weeks
All Other Countries: 6-8 weeks

F-2A – Spouses & Minor, Unmarried Sons & Daughters of LPRs

Mexico: 3-5 weeks
All Other Countries: 2-4 weeks

F-2B – Unmarried Adult Sons & Daughters of LPRs

Mexico: 2-4 weeks
Philippines: 4-6 weeks
All Other Countries: 4-6 weeks

F-3 – Married Adult Sons & Daughters of US Citizens

Mexico: 1-2 weeks
Philippines: 3-4 weeks
All Other Countries: 2-3 weeks

F-4 – Brother & Sisters of US Citizens

Mexico: 1-3 weeks
India: 2-4 weeks
Philippines: 3-5 weeks
All Other Countries: 2-4 weeks

Employment-Based Categories – Visa Bulletin Predictions for October 2023

The ensuing visa bulletin forecasts are approximations based on recent trends within the employment-based categories. It’s crucial to recognize that these approximations are not to be regarded as legal advice for green card prediction.

EB-1 Priority Workers

India: 10+ years
China: 4-6 weeks
All Other Countries: Current

EB-2 Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability

India: 2-4 weeks
China: 2-4 weeks
All Other Countries: 4-6 weeks

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers

India: 2-4 weeks
China: 4-6 weeks
All Other Countries: Unlikely to move forward

The allocation of visas within the employment-based preference categories is delineated as follows for green card prediction:

EB-1 Priority Workers: 28.6% of the global employment-based preference level, plus any surplus from fourth and fifth preferences.
EB-2 Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, with any excess from first preference.
EB-3 Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers: 28.6% of the global limit, plus any excess from first and second preferences, not exceeding 10,000 for “Other Workers.”
In the realm of family and employment preference categories, the law imposes a cap on the number of immigrants from a specific country who can receive green cards in a given year. This cap is set at 7% of the total EB and FB preference visas within a year. Notably, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are exempt from per-country limits.

Due to these numerical and per-country caps, there are substantial waiting periods for certain categories, with more pronounced effects on particular countries. The wait time for U.S. citizens seeking to sponsor siblings, for instance, exceeds 15 years for most regions, but it spans over 20 years for siblings from the Philippines and surpasses 22 years for those from Mexico.

In conclusion, myriad individuals both abroad and within the U.S. are in line for family-sponsored and employment-sponsored green cards. Although many of them are residing in the U.S. on temporary work visas, when their children reach the age of 21, they encounter challenges in maintaining lawful immigration status, risking separation from their families.