The U.S. Department of State has released its May 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 May 2024 Visa Bulletin. Final Action Dates also controlled in March and April, but Dates for Filing controlled in January and February.

The May Visa Bulletin maintains the India EB-1 cutoff date of March 1, 2021. EB-1 China’s cut-off date stays at September 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 remain at January 15, 2023. EB-2 India’s cut-off date is unchanged at April 15, 2012, and EB-2 China’s cut-off date remains at February 1, 2020. All EB-3 categories remain backlogged, with the EB-3 category for the Rest of the World still at November 22, 2022, China EB-3 unchanged at September 1, 2020, and India EB-3 also unchanged at August 15, 2012.

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

T&S Takeaway

The May Visa Bulletin is the second one for the second calendar quarter of the year and no forward or backward cut-off date movement in the EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 categories. This seems to confirm the State Department’s plan to implement such changes on a quarterly basis. The State Department has commented in earlier Visa Bulletins that very little or no forward movement is expected in the “coming months” for EB cut-off dates. If this is the case, it is likely that no movement will occur until the July Visa Bulletin.

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.