United States | September Visa Bulletin: Shows EB-3 retrogression by one year for most countries

The U.S. State Department released the September Visa Bulletin, showing a retrogression by one year for all countries, except for India and China, under EB-3 including Mexico and the Philippines.

Final Action Dates Movement:

EB-1

• China EB-1 will remain the same.
• India EB-1 will remain the same.
• All other countries under EB-1, including Mexico and the Philippines, will remain current.

EB-2

• China EB-2 will remain the same.
• India EB-2 will remain the same.
• All other countries under EB-2, including Mexico and the Philippines, will remain the same.

EB-3

• China EB-3 will remain the same.
• India EB-3 will remain the same.
• All other countries under EB-3, including Mexico and the Philippines, will retrogress by one year to Dec. 1, 2020.

SEPTEMBER

Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases:

Additional Information: The State Department reported that there has been a steady increase in both USCIS and Department of State demand patterns for employment-based visas during the fiscal year. As a result, most employment-based preference category limits for FY 2024 are expected to be reached during September, if not sooner.

The rapid approach of issuance totals in the employment-based preference categories toward the FY 2024 annual limit resulted in a slowdown of issuance rates and a retrogress of the EB-3 final action dates for the Rest of World, Mexico and the Philippines. It is anticipated that the final action dates will advance in October 2024. BAL will continue to monitor the State Department’s actions and report on updates accordingly.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will announce which chart it will use to determine filing eligibility here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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