US B-1, B-2 Visa holders can apply for new jobs, appear in interviews

If you are in the US on a B-1, B-2 Visa, or Tourist Via, you can now apply for jobs and even participate in interviews for jobs. To obtain the US Tourist or Business Visa you will have to make payment of the applicable US Tourist Visa fees.

The US Federal Agency USCIS - US Citizenship and Immigration Services made this announcement on its official Twitter handle. It posted a tweet and said that ‘seeking employment’ and ‘appearing for interviews’ are allowed on the US B-1 & B-2 Visas. It elaborated by saying that several individuals have enquired if it is permissible to search for a new job in the US on the B-2 or B-1 status. The response to this is yes it is permitted, it added.

Meanwhile, if the request for status change is rejected or the application for fresh employment is requested at consular or entry port notification, the person has to exit the US. They have to be accepted in an authorized employment classification prior to commencing fresh employment.

May 2023 Visa Bulletin

The Department of State in the US has published the May 2023 Visa Bulletin. It is eagerly anticipated by candidates waiting for their priority date to change to current so that their Green Card application can progress.

F-1: Single kids of US Citizens aged 21 and more

EB-1: Extraordinary People, Multinational Executives and Managers, and Outstanding Researchers and Professors

 This category witnessed no change for all nations.

EB-2: Outstanding People and Advanced Degree holders

This category witnessed 4 months and 2 weeks of retrogression for Category General, Philippines, Mexico, and Central America.

EB-3: Bachelor’s Degree holders, Unskilled Workers, and Skilled Workers

This category witnessed 8 months of retrogression for Category General, Philippines, Mexico, and Central America.

Visa Bulletin

USCIS declares every month that applicants residing already in the US have to file their applications for ‘status adjustment’ according to the ‘Dates for Final Action’ or the ‘Filing Dates’.

For the month of May, applicants in the family-based category have to use the ‘Filing Dates’ announced on the website of the Department of State. For the month of April, applicants in the employment-based category have to use the ‘Dates for Final Action’ again announced on the same website.

Owing to the surge in EB-2 Visa category demand, the Department of State has retrogressed ‘Dates for Final Action’ for all nations excluding China in April. It is to restrict the use of immigrants’ visa numbers within the yearly cap for 2023.

Note:

In April, a major change was witnessed in the Visa Bulletin in the family-based category F-2A Single kids aged 21 and more and Spouses of US Green Card Holders. Owing to the increasing case backlogs in this category, ‘Dates for Final Action’ in this category is not ‘current’ anymore for the first time in many years. This refers to the applications whose dates for priority have reached the front of the line and now can be adjudicated.

While the ‘Dates for Final Action’ are not current, ‘Filing Dates’ are current for the category F-2A. It means Single kids aged 21 and more and Spouses of US Green Card Holders can submit their applications for Green Cards. However, after submission, the cases will not be adjudicated till the priority date becomes current.

The change is anticipated to greatly enhance the Green Card waiting times for the category F-2A. So applicants will have to keep track of the monthly Visa Bulletins regularly.