September 19, 2024
Summary of the October Visa Bulletin
The release of the October 2024 Visa Bulletin will further test the patience of foreign nationals waiting in line for years to get their green cards. Instead of the usual advance of priority dates expected at this time of year, the start of the Department of State’s Fiscal Year, this month’s bulletin revealed very little progress.
The Visa Bulletin informs green card applicants on when they may file an adjustment of status application if they are in the US, or when they may receive their immigrant visa in the US consulate in their home country. Once a “priority date” (PD) date becomes current, an adjustment of status (AOS) application may be filed, or an immigrant visa may be issued. Let’s examine the trajectory of the Visa Bulletin from September to October:
- For EB-1 category, there is no change for all countries between the September Visa Bulletin and the October Visa Bulletin.
- For EB-2 category, all PDs remains the same except for China, which moved forward from March 1, 2020 to March 22, 2020.
- For EB-3 category, all PDs moved forward for Mexico, Philippines and all other countries advancing from December 1, 2020 to November 15, 2022. India moved forward a total of 10 days from October 22, 2012 to November 1, 2012 while China regressed from September 1, 2020 to April 1, 2020.
It is not all doom and gloom, however, for this coming month’s visa bulletin. While there may be a bit of a wait to receive the actual green card, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services signals they will allow the use of the “Dates For Filing” chart for both family and employment preference cases. What this means is applicants may look at this chart to determine if an AOS may be submitted for themselves and their families. A few things to remember:
- The use of the “Dates For Filing” chart only allows the filing of AOS but the receipt of the actual green card will still follow the “Final Action Dates” Table.
- Submission of an AOS application means that a work permit and/or travel document may be requested as well.
Since there has been a bit of a positive movement in the Dates For Filing Table, look below to know if your priority date will allow you to file for an AOS:
- For EB-1 category, Indian nationals with PDs on or before April 15, 2022 may now submit an AOS application, a slight movement up from February 8, 2022 in the September Visa Bulletin. All PDs for all other countries stayed the same.
- For EB-2 category, eligibility to file AOS applications for all countries moved forward. The current PDs are:
- China: October 1, 2020
- India: January 1, 2013
- Mexico: August 1, 2023
- Philippines: August 1, 2023
- All other countries: August 1, 2023
- For EB-3 category, all countries moved forward except for China which rolled back from July 1, 2021 to November 15, 2020. The rest of the countries’ current PDs are:
- India: June 8, 2013
- Mexico: March 1, 2023
- Philippines: March 1, 2023
- All other countries: March 1, 2023
All AOS Applications must be filed by October 31, 2024, to take advantage of this opportunity. We are reviewing our priority date report internally and will reach out to you if your case is eligible to file under either the “final action” or “dates for filing” chart in October. If you believe your case is eligible to be filed and you have not heard from our office by September 27th, please do reach out to request further information.