The Department of State (DOS) has issued its March 2024 Visa Bulletin.  After very little movement in February, there will be forward movement in several family and employment-based immigrant visa categories. None of the categories will retrogress. 

For the employment-based final action dates, the EB-1 category will advance by fourteen days for nationals of China and one month for nationals of India. The EB-2 category will advance by seven days for nationals of all countries except China and India. Furthermore, the EB-3 category will move forward for nationals of all countries, except for China, which will have no movement in March.  

For family-based categories, there will be some forward movement in the final action dates. The F-1 category for nationals of all countries except Mexico and Philippines will advance by one month and seven days. The F-2A category for nationals of all counties will advance by four months and fourteen days. The F-2B and F-3 categories for nationals of all countries except Mexico and Philippines also will advance by one month and twenty one days, and five months and nine days, respectively. Finally, the F-4 category will see movement for nationals from all countries. 

USCIS will continue to honor the Dates for Filing Chart for family-based immigrant petitions in March (chart provided further below). However, employment-based immigrant petitions will need to use the Final Action Dates Chart. Although there will be no movement in the family-based categories for the Dates for Filing, these dates are still further ahead than the Final Action Dates, so beneficiaries of family-based immigrant petitions can get their applications filed and obtain interim benefits for employment and travel until the government can actually approve their green card application.

Employment-Based Movement 

In March, for employment-based categories, we will have some forward movements in the EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 categories. The EB-1 category will advance by one month for nationals from India and fourteen days for nationals from China. For nationals of all other countries, the EB-1 category remains current. The EB-2 category will advance by seven days for nationals of all countries except China and India, which will stay the same. Furthermore, the EB-3 category will move forward for nationals of all countries, except for China, which will remain the same.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

Family-based Movement

For the family-based categories, there will be forward movement in the final action dates for all categories. The F-1 category for nationals of all countries, except for Mexico and Philippines, will advance by one month and seven days. The F-2A category for all countries, including Mexico and Philippines, will advance by four months and fourteen days. In the F-2B category, Mexico and Philippines will remain the same, while nationals of all other countries will advance by one month and twenty one days.The F-2 category for all countries will advance by five months and nine days, except for Mexico and Philippines, which remain the same. Lastly, we see movement in the F-4 category will see movement for nationals from all countries. Specifically, India and Mexico will advance by one month, the Philippines will advance by eight months, and nationals of all other countries will advance by seventeen days.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

By way of reminder, the categories are:

• F-1 category:  unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

• F2-A category: spouses and children under 21 of lawful permanent residents

• F2-B category: unmarried adult children (over 21) of lawful permanent residents

• F-3 category:  married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

• F-4 category:  siblings of U.S. citizens

WHAT DATES IN THE VISA BULLETIN SHOULD YOU USE FOR FILING YOUR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATION WITH USCIS?

If USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for a fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, then USCIS will state here that you may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin, which usually has dates later than the Final Action Dates noted above. Otherwise, USCIS will indicate on its website that you must use the Application Final Action Dates chart (above) to determine when you may file your adjustment of status application in the United States.

For March 2024, USCIS has confirmed the Dates for Filing (below) should be used for family-based categories. Employment-based categories must use the Final Action Dates (above).

If the priority date for your family-based category is before the date listed above and you are in the United States, you may file your application to adjust your status along with the applications for employment authorization and travel permission (assuming you have no bars to admissibility) with USCIS in March. 

The entire visa bulletin is available on the State Department’s website, which includes information on the diversity visa lottery and the EB-5 priority dates. 

If you would like more information on how to understand the monthly visa bulletin, please check out our podcast on this topic.

This alert is for informational purposes only.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss these developments further.