July 2024 US Visa Bulletin: Unexpected advancement in key Indian Green Card category; retrogression across EB-3

Following months of minimal movement in the employment-based Green Card categories, the July Visa Bulletin has finally recorded a promising leap across several categories. While the EB-3 preference faces retrogression in the Other Countries panel, India has jumped far ahead by 11 months in the EB-1 preference. Meanwhile, the EB-2 category for Indian applicants has also witnessed an advancement of two months.

While Indian applicants rejoice in the unexpected progression, other categories either face retrogression or mere modest movement.

Key Takeaways of July 2024 US Visa Bulletin

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) July Bulletin again relies on official jargon to distinguish between ‘dates for filing’ and ‘final action dates.’

The former maps out the timeline of an application's eligibility. For you to move ahead with the following steps of the application procedure, your priority date must fall on or before the cut-off date listed in your country's visa category. On the contrary, ‘final action dates’ indicate the estimated time for your application's approval.

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Employment-Based preferences

1st: Priority Workers - 28.6% global employment-based preference level + surplus numbers of fourth and fifth preferences.

2nd: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees / Persons of Exceptional Ability - 28.6% of worldwide employment-based preference level + numbers left out by the first.

3rd: Skilled Workers, Professionals and Other Workers - 28.6% of global level + numbers left over by the first and second preferences, with 10,000 allotted to ‘Other Workers’.

4th: Certain Special Immigrants - 7.1% of the global level, with 32% set aside as follows: 20% for qualified immigrants investing in a rural area + 10% for qualified immigrants investing in high unemployment areas + 2% for qualified immigrants in infrastructure projects. The remaining 68% is unreserved and set aside for all eligible immigrants.

5th: Employment Creation - 7.1% of the worldwide level.

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Final Action Dates for Employment-based cases:

Dates for filing Employment-based visa applications:

Family-based Applications:

F1: Unmarried sons + daughters of US citizens [23,400 + numbers left out by fourth preference].

Second: Spouse and children + unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents

F2A: Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents - 77% of overall second preference, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit.

F2B: Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years or older) of Permanent Residents - 23% of overall second preference.

F3: Married Sons + Daughters of US Citizens - 23,400 + numbers left out by first and second preferences.

F4: Brothers and Sisters of Adult US Citizens - 65,000 + surplus numbers of first three preferences.

Final Action Dates for family-sponsored applications:

Dates for filing family-based visa applications: