The U.S. Department of State has released its July 2024 Visa Bulletin imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and consular Immigrant Visa application filings and approvals. In order to be “current,” the priority date held by a person applying for permanent residence must be before the cut-off date specified in the monthly Visa Bulletin.

To be eligible to file an Employment-Based (EB) AOS application, a foreign national must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for his or her preference category and country of chargeability. The “C” listing indicates that the category is current and that applications may be filed with any priority date.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has indicated that the Final Action Dates chart must be used for the July 2024 Visa Bulletin. Final Action Dates have controlled since March 2024. Dates for Filing controlled in January and February.

The July Visa Bulletin moves the India EB-1 cut-off date forward 11 months to February 1, 2022. EB-1 China’s cut-off date moves forward two months to November 1, 2022. EB-1 cut-off dates for the Rest of the World, Mexico, and Philippines remain current. The Rest of the World, Mexico, and Philippines EB-2 cut-off dates also move forward by two months, to March 15, 2023. EB-2 India’s cut-off date moves forward by two months to June 15, 2012, and EB-2 China’s cut-off date moves forward by one month to March 1, 2020. Forward movement occurred in the EB-3 India category, which moves forward one month to September 22, 2012. EB-3 China’s cut-off date remains unchanged at September 1, 2020. All other EB-3 categories move backwards in July 2024. The EB-3 categories for the Rest of the World, Mexico, and the Philippines will retrogress more than 11 months, to December 1, 2021.

Final Action Dates Chart Will Control in July 2024 

The Visa Bulletin includes both a Dates for Filing chart and a Final Action Dates chart. The Final Action Dates chart indicates when a priority date is current and I-485 AOS applications or Immigrant Visa applications may be approved and permanent residence granted. The Dates for Filing chart, when followed by USCIS, indicates when intending immigrants may file their AOS applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). 

Each month, USCIS chooses to either follow the Final Action or the Dates for Filing chart. For July 2024, as noted above, the USCIS will follow the Final Action Dates for Employment-Based AOS application filings.  Thus, those seeking to file applications for AOS with the USCIS in July 2024 must use the chart for the Final Action Dates shown below. 

T&S Takeaway 

As predicted in our news alert last month, notable movement has occurred in the July Visa Bulletin. This appears to confirm the State Department’s plan to implement such changes on a quarterly basis. Additionally, the Department of State has commented on the final action date retrogression in the EB-3 categories for the Rest of the World, Mexico, and the Philippines, noting that due to high demand in these categories, “it will likely be necessary to either further retrogress the final action date or make the category ‘Unavailable’ in August.” Accordingly, individuals with priority dates before November 22, 2022 who are eligible to, but have not yet filed an Adjustment of Status application in the EB-3 category for Rest of the World, Mexico, and the Philippines in June 2024 should connect with their immigration teams and take care not to miss the opportunity to file their AOS applications. 

The attorneys of Tafapolsky & Smith LLP will monitor and analyze all developments affecting immigrant visa availability, including all statements made by DOS officers before the publication of the relevant Visa Bulletin and will provide immediate updates on any significant developments.