The U.S. Department of State has released its March 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 March 2024 Visa Bulletin. Some of the Final Action Dates for March 2024 have moved slightly forward from last month’s Final Action Date cut-offs, but are significantly earlier than the Dates for Filing cut-offs accepted by USCIS during February 2024. Accordingly, some prospective Adjustment of Status applicants have priority dates that are eligible for filing in February but will not be accepted by USCIS in March 2024.

The March Visa Bulletin imposes an India EB-1 cutoff date of October 1, 2020. EB-1 China’s cut-off date has moved to July 15, 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 have moved to November 22, 2022. EB-2 India’s cut-off date has moved to March 1, 2012, and China’s cut-off date has moved to January 1, 2020. All EB-3 categories remain backlogged, with the EB-3 category for the Rest of the World now at September 8, 2022, China EB-3 at September 1, 2020, and India EB-3 at July 1, 2012.

Final Action Dates Chart Will Control in March 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 March 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 March 2024 must use the chart for the Final Action Dates shown below.

T&S Takeaway

The March Visa Bulletin, like the January and February bulletins, contains no commentary by the State Department and no prediction is made as to future cut-off date movement or immigrant visa availability. The USCIS also has made no comment on its decision to follow the Final Action Dates chart in March, although this is usually done in an effort to reduce demand for immigrant visas and suggests that the USCIS may have a large number of AOS applications pending. The lack of cut-off date movement from last month’s Dates for Filing chart seems to confirm the State Department’s plan to implement such changes on a quarterly basis, at least for the Dates for Filing chart. The March 2024 Visa Bulletin Final Action dates chart does, as noted above, include some minor forward movement in many categories compared to the February Visa Bulletin’s Final Action dates.

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.