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Practice Alert: April 2023 Visa Bulletin Changes Impacting SIJS Recipients

Practice Advisory
Issue area
Children and Families
Audience
Attorney
Published: Mar. 24, 2023

On March 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of State (“State Department”) released the April 2023 Visa Bulletin, in which it announced significant changes to the way certain employment-based visas are allocated. Because children granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS recipients”) receive visas through the employment-based fourth preference category (“EB-4”), these changes impact how long SIJS recipients have to wait before they can apply for adjustment of status (a “green card”). These changes will go into effect on April 1, 2023. Practitioners representing SIJS recipients should consider whether there are steps they can take before April 1, 2023, to advocate for impacted clients.