October 2022 Visa Bulletin Assessment
COVID processing delays have created an abundance of
employment-based immigrant visas (aka Green Cards) for fiscal year
2022 (October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022). An unprecedented
281,507 employment-based Green Cards are available, more than
double the 140,000 allocated under the Immigration and Nationality
Act (INA).
Each fiscal year, a minimum of 226,000 family-based Green Cards
are available, with the exception that the spouse, children or
parents of a U.S. citizen are exempt from this quota. The
family-based quota applies to spouses and children and unmarried
adult sons and daughters of Permanent Residents, and to the
siblings, and married or adult unmarried sons and daughters of U.S.
Citizens. Any unused family-based Green Cards in a fiscal year
become available to employment-based Green Card quota in the next
fiscal year. Additionally, the INA caps the number of Green Cards
available for nationals of a particular
