The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the monthly Visa Bulletin for October 2024. Until October 1, the September 2024 Visa Bulletin remains in effect. 

The Visa Bulletin contains the DOS’s Final Action Dates chart, which lists the priority dates that are current in each respective category, the categories that are current during the applicable month (i.e., categories that do not have any backlogs), and the categories that are unavailable. The Visa Bulletin also contains the DOS’s Dates for Filing chart, which usually progresses ahead of the Final Action Dates chart and which U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) sometimes uses to determine the date that Adjustment of Status filings are permitted in each respective category. 

For October 2024, USCIS has confirmed on its website that beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant petitions should use the Dates for Filing to determine eligibility to file adjustment of status (“green card”) applications. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Very little movement in the EB-1 category; all countries of birth other than China (PRC) and India remain current. 

• Significant forward movement of nearly two years in the EB-3 category for all countries of birth other than China and India; EB-3 for those born in India advanced by one week while EB-3 for those born in China retrogressed by five months. 

• EB-5 Unreserved advanced by seven months for individuals born in China and by over one year for individuals born in India; all other EB-5 categories remain current. 

• Based on its Dates of Filing chart, the DOS appears to believe that the next fiscal year will not see a tremendous amount of movement in Final Action Dates. 

October 2024 Final Action Dates: 

Foster LLP will continue to track immigrant visa availability and provide updates about any developments via Immigration Updates©, articles, and blogs on our website at www.fosterglobal.com.