At a glance
- The EB-2 immigrant visa category is immediately unavailable and will remain so through the remainder of fiscal year 2024, which ends September 30, 2024.
- USCIS should nevertheless continue to accept EB-2 adjustment of status filings that are current in the Visa Bulletin for September.
- EB-2 cases cannot be approved until a visa number becomes available.
The State Department has announced that the annual limit for the EB-2 immigrant visa category has been met for FY 2024. As a result, the category is immediately unavailable and will remain so through September 30, the end of the fiscal year. U.S. embassies and consulates cannot issue immigrant visas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cannot approve adjustment of status applications in the EB-2 category through September 30.
Annual immigrant visa limits will reset with the start of the FY 2025 fiscal year on October 1, 2024. At that point, USCIS will be able to resume approving adjustment of status cases and embassies and consulates will be able to resume issuing immigrant visas in the EB-2 and any other currently unavailable categories. The EB-3 and EB-5 Unreserved immigrant visa categories became unavailable in mid-August, and the EB-1 category became unavailable in late August.
In its September Visa Bulletin, the State Department predicted that due to continuing increased visa demand, employment-based immigrant visa annual limits could be exhausted for many categories and countries in September or earlier. The agency anticipates that Final Action dates will advance at the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, but date movements will depend on actual immigrant visa demand.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.