The November 2024 Visa Bulletin brings new developments for family-sponsored and employment-based immigration categories. While specific categories have seen slight advancements, particularly for China in employment-based preferences, India’s applicants continue to face stagnation. This bulletin highlights significant forward movement in the EB-5 category for India and steady progress in several employment-based categories for China, while family-sponsored categories remain relatively unchanged. Understanding these updates is crucial for immigrants planning their visa applications, as it sets the tone for the coming months.
Family-Sponsored Preference Visas:
- F2A (Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents): The final action date has advanced to January 1, 2022, across all chargeability areas, compared to April 2021 for Mexico, signaling movement forward since October 2024.
- F1 (Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens): No changes for most countries, as the date remains at October 22, 2015.
- F3 (Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens): Still stagnant on April 15, 2010, for most chargeability areas.
Employment-Based Preference Visas:
- EB-1 (Priority Workers): The final action date for India remains retrogressed to February 1, 2022, while China shows slight forward movement to November 8, 2022. All other countries remain current.
- EB-2 (Advanced Degree Holders): The cutoff date for India remains at July 15, 2012, while China advances to March 22, 2020
- EB-3 (Skilled Workers and Professionals): India saw no change, remaining at November 1, 2012, while China advanced slightly to April 1, 2020.
- EB-5 (Investors): Notably, India’s final action date surged forward to January 1, 2022, reflecting the significant movement for investors.
Key Trends:
- Minimal Advancement for India: India continues to face significant backlogs, especially in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories, with no movement in sight for November 2024.
- China’s Slow Forward Progress: Small but steady advancements continue for Chinese nationals, particularly in the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories.
- Family-Based Visas: There have been modest advancements in the F2A category for spouses and children of permanent residents, while many other family-based categories, like F1 and F3, show stagnation.
The November 2024 Visa Bulletin shows limited advancements, especially for China, while India remains largely stalled.
Conclusion
The November 2024 Visa Bulletin shows limited advancements and ongoing challenges as we look forward to the coming months. While China shows continued progress, Indian applicants, particularly in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories, face a long wait. Family-sponsored visa categories saw minimal changes, with some movement in the F2A category for spouses and children of permanent residents. Applicants must remain vigilant about changes in priority dates to navigate their immigration processes effectively.
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