VISA BULLETIN FOR OCTOBER 2024

Introduction – Visa Bulletin for October 2024

The State Department has dropped the Visa Bulletin for October 2024, which gives a rundown of the immigrant visas that are up for grabs in the first month of Fiscal Year 2025. The bulletin comes with two charts: the Final Action Dates chart and the Dates for Filing chart, which are for both Employment-Based and Family-Based immigrant visas.  

Every month, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) makes clear which chart people who are already in the US and want to adjust their status should use. For October 2024, USCIS has said that people can use the Dates for Filing chart for both Family-Based and Employment-Based cases. 

Here is what is happening with the visas in the October 2024 Visa Bulletin. 

Summary of the visa bulletin 

From the October 2024 Visa Bulletin, it is clear that: 

• The last day to apply for the China EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers group is moving up by five months, hitting April 1, 2020. The deadline to actually file will also move up by almost 8 months, landing on November 15, 2020. 

• The worldwide EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers group is getting a two-year head start, hitting November 15, 2022. The deadline to file will also move forward by a month, landing on March 1, 2023. 

• The China EB-5 Unreserved Final Action date is moving up by seven months, but the deadline to actually file is going to slide back by three months, landing on October 1, 2016. 

• The India EB-5 Unreserved Final Action date is getting a big boost, hitting January 1, 2022. The deadline to file will stay put at April 1, 2022. 

USCIS will be accepting applications for employment-based categories starting in October. 

Update on employment-based visas 

October kicks off the first month of a new budget year, and that is when we see the number of available visas starting over. However, not much has changed in many of the employment-related visa categories lately, according to the latest updates. 

• The EB-1 visas. 

Right in the top spot (EB-1, Priority Workers), there has only been a modest shuffle. The latest deadline for China has moved up by a week, to November 8, 2022. India’s deadline for EB-1 visas is staying put at February 1, 2022. The other countries listed are still on track.  

The date of filing chart shows that China’s deadline for applying for their green card has stayed the same at January 1, 2023. India’s deadline for their EB-1 application will move up by about six months to January 1, 2013. For everyone else, their deadline is still in March 15, 2023. 

• The EB-2 visas. 

In the middle of the pack (EB-2, this includes workers with advanced degrees, and people with exceptional abilities), there has been a slight bump for China compared to the other spots, but the rest are all steady.  

For China’s EB-2, the latest deadline is moving three weeks forward to March 22, 2020. India’s is getting bumped forward by about a month to November 1, 2012. The other spots are staying at the same dates as before, with a slight push forward for everyone by about four months to meet the new fiscal year’s targets. 

• The EB-3 visas. 

For the third preference group (EB-3, which includes skilled and blue-collar workers, professionals, and more), China’s latest deadline has moved five months backward, while the others are staying put. It is pretty rare to see a deadline shift this late in the year, especially since it is the point where new visa numbers are distributed and the annual limits for these visas get reset.  

The final action dates chart shows China’s deadline going backward by five months to April 1, 2020. India’s deadline is moving forward by a week to November 1, 2012. The rest of the world’s deadlines are just getting one more month, pushing them to March 1, 2023. 

• The EB-4 visas. 

The EB-4 category, which includes Minister and Non-Minister Religious Workers, is set to run out on September 30, 2024, unless Congress steps in to extend it. If they don’t, this category will be off the table starting September 29, 2024.  

That means the State Department won’t be handing out these visas starting September 29, 2024, and USCIS won’t be looking at any applications for visas to adjust status until Congress decides to revive the program. 

• The EB-5 visas. 

In the EB-5 category for Investors, there are some good news updates. For the EB-5 unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), the dates for India have been pushed back by over a year to January 1, 2022. China’s dates have been bumped up by seven months to July 15, 2016. The rest of the countries will stay on track.  

For the EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure), the dates will stay the same. However, for the EB-5 unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), China’s dates will slide back by three months to October 1, 2016, while India’s will stay at April 1, 2022. The rest of the countries will stay on schedule. The EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will also stay on track. 

Update for the family-based visas 

In the family-based preference system, the schedule for visa applications has changed, except for a few exceptions. Mexico and India have updated cutoff dates for one of their categories in the final action date chart. The changes were made because the visa rollover period started in October. 

The changes are as follows: 

• For unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens in the F-1 category, Mexico’s updated deadline is January 1, 2003, while the rest of the world’s is October 22, 2015. This is a seven-month extension compared to the previous date. 

• In the F-2A category (spouses and children of permanent residents), there are slight changes for Mexico, but all other countries’ deadlines are unchanged. Mexico now has a later deadline of March 8, 2021, instead of the original February 22, 2015. 

• The F-2B category (adult sons and daughters of permanent residents who are 21 years or older) also sees minor updates for Mexico, with a new deadline of January 15, 2005. 

• In the F-3 category (spouses and children of US citizens who are already married), Mexico’s deadline has advanced by five months to August 22, 2000. 
• Finally, for the F4 category (brothers and sisters of adult US citizens), India has updated its deadlines. The new deadline for India is March 1, 2006.