Nnewswire – The Department of State has just released the October 2024 Visa Bulletin, and it demonstrates positive news for the new Reform and Integrity Act EB-3 program and Chinese and Indians waiting in line under the previous EB-3 program.
According to the State Department’s October Visa Bulletin, the Final Action cutoff dates for the issuance of an immigrant visa or the approval of an adjustment of status application are as follows:
- EB-1: China will move forward to November 8, 2022, while India will remain on February 1, 2022. All other countries will stay the same.
- EB-2: China will advance three weeks to March 22, 2020, and India will remain on July 15, 2012. All other countries will remain on March 15, 2023.
- EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: China will move back five months to April 1, 2020, which is unusual because this change will happen at the beginning of the fiscal year when a new annual allotment of immigrant visas becomes available. The annual immigrant visa limits are reset. India will move forward by one week to November 1, 2012, and all other countries will move forward by almost two years to November 15, 2022.
- EB–3 Other Workers: The EB-3 Other Worker subcategory for the Philippines will advance by seven months to December 1, 2020, and India will advance by one week to November 1, 2012. Final action dates for all other countries will remain unchanged.
- EB-5: The priority dates for the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5) will advance for China by seven months to July 15, 2016, and for India by more than one year to January 1, 2022. For all other countries, the priority dates will remain current. The EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will also remain current.
USCIS has announced that it will accept applications for adjustment of status based on the Visa Bulletin Dates for Filing chart in October. Some key dates for filing in the October bulletin are:
- EB-1: India’s advancement to April 15, 2022, will be expedited by over two months, while China will remain on January 1, 2023, and all other countries will stay current.
- EB-2: China will move forward to October 1, 2020, and India will jump to January 1, 2013, almost six months earlier. The other countries will progress to August 1, 2023, more than four months earlier than planned.
- EB-3: Professionals and skilled workers: China will retrogress by about eight months to November 15, 2020. India will advance by over seven months to June 8, 2013, and all other countries will advance by one month to March 1, 2023.
- EB-5:For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), China will retrogress by three months to October 1, 2016, while India will remain at April 1, 2022. All other countries will remain current. The EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.
A complete list of the October Visa Bulletin Action cutoff dates and Dates for Filing can be found below.
A.FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES
| Family-sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 22OCT15 | 22OCT15 | 22OCT15 | 01JAN03 | 01MAR12 |
| F2A | 22NOV21 | 22NOV21 | 22NOV21 | 08MAR21 | 22NOV21 |
| F2B | 01MAY16 | 01MAY16 | 01MAY16 | 15JAN05 | 22OCT11 |
| F3 | 01APR10 | 01APR10 | 01APR10 | 22AUG00 | 08SEP02 |
| F4 | 01AUG07 | 01AUG07 | 01MAR06 | 22FEB01 | 01FEB04 |
B.DATES FOR FILING FAMILY-SPONSORED VISA APPLICATIONS
| Family-sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01OCT05 | 22APR15 |
| F2A | 15JUL24 | 15JUL24 | 15JUL24 | 15JUL24 | 15JUL24 |
| F2B | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01AUG05 | 01OCT13 |
| F3 | 01JAN11 | 01JUL11 | 01JUL11 | 15JUN01 | 08MAY04 |
| F4 | 01MAR08 | 01MAR08 | 15JUN06 | 30APR01 | 01AUG06 |
A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES
| Employment- based | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 08NOV22 | 01FEB22 | C | C |
| 2nd | 15MAR23 | 20MAR20 | 15JUL12 | 15MAR23 | 15MAR23 |
| 3rd | 15NOV22 | 01APR20 | 01NOV12 | 15NOV22 | 15NOV22 |
| Other Workers | 01DEC20 | 01JAN17 | 01NOV12 | 01DEC20 | 01DEC20 |
| 4th | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 | 01JAN21 |
| Certain Religious Workers | U | U | U | U | U |
| 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5) | C | 15JULY16 | 01JAN22 | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Rural (20%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%) | C | C | C | C | C |
B.DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS
| Employment- based | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 01JAN23 | 15APR22 | C | C |
| 2nd | 01AUG23 | 01OCT20 | 01JAN13 | 01AUG23 | 01AUG23 |
| 3rd | 01MAR23 | 15NOV20 | 08JUN13 | 01MAR23 | 01MAR23 |
| Other Workers | 22MAY21 | 01JAN18 | 01JAN13 | 22MAY21 | 22MAY21 |
| 4th | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 |
| Certain Religious Workers | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 |
| 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5) | C | 01OCT16 | 01APR22 | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (Rural – 20%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (High Unemployment – 10%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (Infrastructure – 2%) | C | C | C | C | C |
B.DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately | |
| AFRICA | Current | Except: Algeria 74,900 Egypt 50,000 Morocco 70,000 |
| ASIA | 27,500 | Except: Iran 14,500 Nepal 12,000 |
| EUROPE | 50,000 | Except: Russia 29,500 Uzbekistan 12,500 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) | Current | |
| OCEANIA | 2,700 | |
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN | 5,000 |
B. THE DIVERSITY (DV) IMMIGRANT CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS WHICH WILL APPLY IN NOVEMBER
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately | |
| AFRICA | 15,000 | Except: Algeria 6,500 Egypt 8,250 Morocco 8,250 |
| ASIA | 3,000 | Except: Iran 2,950 Nepal 2,950 |
| EUROPE | 6,000 | Except: Russia 5,950 Uzbekistan 4,900 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) | 2 | |
| OCEANIA | 500 | |
| SOUTH AMERICA and the CARIBBEAN | 825 |
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