The US visa bulletin for August has been released by the Department of State. The US visa bulletin shows the deadlines for Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications by immigrant visa applicants for submitting necessary paperwork to the National Visa Center.
The Final Action cutoff dates will be crucial for the issuance of an immigrant visa or the approval of an adjustment of status application.
India’s Unreserved EB-5 category Final Action Date will advance by more than six months, while China’s will advance by nearly two years.
Applications for employment-based adjustment of status from foreign nationals with a priority date earlier than the August Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates will be accepted by USCIS starting next month.
The Department of State has issued alerts regarding potential impending shortages in the EB-2, EB-3, and EB-5 categories that could last until the fiscal year’s end on September 30, 2025.
With the exception of China and India, which stayed the same as last month, the final action dates for EB-2 visa country categories were retrogressed by 1.5 months to September 1, 2023. Final Action Dates for India EB-3 visas showed the only progress, moving up one month to May 22, 2013. You may be eligible for an EB-3 visa if you are a skilled worker, professional, or other worker.
One is eligible for the EB-3 immigrant visa preference category if they are a skilled worker with at least two years of experience, professionals who hold at least a U.S. bachelor’s or foreign equivalent degree, or other workers whose job requires less than 2 years of training or experience.
The final action dates for the China EB-1 visa (November 15, 2022) will not change. The final action dates for the India EB-1 visa (February 15, 2022) will not change. Final Action Dates will stay the same for Mexico, the Philippines, and every other nation covered by the EB-1 visa category.
The final action dates for China EB-2 visas (December 15, 2020) will not change. The final action dates for the India EB-2 visa (January 1, 2013) will not change. Final Action Dates will be retroactively moved back one and a half months to September 1, 2023, for all other nations covered by the EB-2 visa category, including Mexico and the Philippines.
The deadline of December 15, 2020, for China EB-2 visas will remain unchanged. The January 1, 2013, final action dates for the India EB-2 visa will remain unchanged. All other countries covered by the EB-2 visa category, including Mexico and the Philippines, will have their Final Action Dates retroactively shifted back one and a half months to September 1, 2023.
Due to increased number use, it has become necessary to retrogress the EB-2 final action date for Rest of World countries. The issuance total in this category is rapidly approaching the annual limit for FY-2025, necessitating this slowdown of issuance rates.
It is likely the annual limit will be reached sometime in August, if not sooner. If at any time the EB-2 annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers would be honored. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.
Visa demand and number use remain high in the EB-3 and EW visa categories, and issuance totals are approaching the annual limits for FY-2025 in those categories. It will likely be necessary to either retrogress the final action dates or make the categories “Unavailable” in September, if not sooner. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.
The fiscal year 2025 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants is 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. The per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.
Allocations in the charts below were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by July 2nd.
A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES
B. DATES FOR FILING FAMILY-SPONSORED VISA APPLICATIONS
A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES
B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS
