US Jobs: What is the annual limit for American employment-based immigrant visas in 2024?

The employment-based (EB) annual limit for fiscal year (FY) 2024 will be higher than was typical before the pandemic, though lower than in FY 2021-2023. USCIS will use as many available employment-based visas as possible in FY 2024, which ends on September 30, 2024.

The FY 2023 employment-based annual limit was 197,091, due to unused family-based visa numbers from FY 2022 being added to the employment-based limit for FY 2023. In addition, 6,396 EB-5 visas carried over from FY 2022 to FY 2023 in the reserved subcategories.

By the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2023, the agencies used all of these employment-based immigrant visas, apart from 10,874 EB-5 visas that Congress has allowed to carry over to the next fiscal year.

Of these, USCIS and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) till March 7, 2024, approved more than 147,000 employment-based adjustment of status applications for individuals already present in the United States.

Current estimates show that the FY 2024 employment-based annual limit will be approximately 161,000, due to unused family-sponsored visa numbers from FY 2023 being added to the employment-based limit for FY 2024.

In addition to the 161,000 overall limit, in the EB-5 category, there are 10,874 extra visas available that Congress has allowed to carry over from the previous 2 fiscal years.

U.S. immigration law provides foreigners with a variety of ways to become lawful permanent residents and get a Green Card through employment in the United States. The employment-based immigrant visa classification comprises three major preference categories: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, and EB-5, each with specific eligibility requirements. The other two are EB-4 (Employment-Based Fourth Preference) and EB-5 (Employment-Based Fifth Preference).

By applying for “adjustment of status, the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories can get lawful permanent resident status while working in the United States.

Every Final Action Date in the Visa Bulletin has advanced from its level in September 2023 (or remained the same), and on October 1, 2023, USCIS and DOS began completing the adjudication of applications filed by noncitizens for whom visas became available.