Breaking News: February 2024 Visa Bulletin Updates and Predictions!

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares everything you need to know about the February 2024 Visa Bulletin including a few changes in the employment based and family-sponsored preference categories. We also discuss our predictions on what to expect from the Visa Bulletin in the coming months.

If you would like to know more about this topic, we invite you to watch our video.

Adjustment of Status Filing Chart February 2024

As in the previous few months, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to use the Dates for Filing chart in the month of February 2024 to determine eligibility for I-485 adjustment of status filings (green card filings inside the US).

USCIS February 2024 Adjustment of Status Filing Charts

What Changes Can Be Seen Next Month?

Employment-based categories

The February Dates for Filing remain the same as January 2024

Final Action Dates

EB-1 Worldwide: Final Action Dates will remain current.
EB-2 Worldwide: Final Action Dates will advance by two weeks to November 15, 2022.
EB-3 Professional/Skilled Workers: India will advance by one month to July 1, 2012. Final Action Dates for the remaining countries in this category will advance by one month to September 1, 2022.
EB-3 Other Workers: India will advance by one month to July 1, 2012.
EB-5: The EB-5 China Unreserved Final Action Date will advance by one week to December 15, 2015.

Family-sponsored categories

The February Dates for Filing remain the same as January 2024

Final Action Dates:

The Final Action Dates for all countries remain the same as January 2024 except F2A
F2A: F2A Worldwide, China, India, and the Philippines will advance by more than 3 months to February 8, 2020. F2A Mexico will advance by more than 3 months to February 1, 2020.

Prediction: The Department of State is still crunching numbers to determine the availability of visa numbers. We believe that we will not see significant movement in the visa categories until later this year, starting in either the late spring or by the summertime. However, it is still important for you to review the Visa Bulletin on a monthly basis to keep track of its progress.

Now let’s look at the charts.

FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES

According to the Department of State’s February 2024 Visa Bulletin, the following Final Action cutoff dates will apply for family-sponsored categories:

The Final Action Dates for all countries remain the same as January 2024 except F2A
F2A: F2A Worldwide, China, India, and the Philippines will advance by more than 3 months to February 8, 2020. F2A Mexico will advance by more than 3 months to February 1, 2020.

*Please note: these dates are unchanged from the January 2024 Visa Bulletin, except for F2A

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01JAN15	01JAN15	01JAN15	01MAY01	01MAR12
F2A	08FEB20	08FEB20	08FEB20	01FEB20	08FEB20
F2B	01OCT15	01OCT15	01OCT15	22OCT03	22OCT11
F3	22APR09	22APR09	22APR09	08SEP98	08JUN02
F4	22MAY07	22MAY07	15NOV05	15SEP00	15OCT02

Final Action Dates February 2024 (unchanged from previous month except F2A)

F-1 Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens

Mexico: May 1, 2001
Philippines: March 1, 2012
All other countries: January 1, 2015

F-2A Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents

Mexico: October February 1, 2020 (Advancement)
All other countries: February 8, 2020 (Advancement)

F-2B Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents

Mexico: October 22, 2003
Philippines: October 22, 2011
All other countries: October 1, 2015

F3 Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens

Mexico: September 8, 1998
Philippines: June 8, 2002
All other countries: April 22, 2009

F-4 Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens

Mexico: September 15, 2000
India: November 15, 2005
Philippines: October 15, 2002
All other countries: May 22, 2007

DATES FOR FILING FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES

According to the Department of State’s February 2024 Visa Bulletin, the following Dates for Filing cutoff dates will apply for adjustment of status filings for family-sponsored categories:

*Please note: these dates are unchanged from the January 2024 Visa Bulletin

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01SEP17	01SEP17	01SEP17	01APR05	22APR15
F2A	01SEP23	01SEP23	01SEP23	01SEP23	01SEP23
F2B	01JAN17	01JAN17	01JAN17	01AUG04	01OCT13
F3	01MAR10	01MAR10	01MAR10	15JUN01	08NOV03
F4	01MAR08	01MAR08	22FEB06	15APR01	22APR04

Dates for Filing February 2024 (unchanged from previous month)

F-1 Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens

Mexico: April 1, 2005
Philippines: April 22, 2015
All other countries: September 1, 2017

F-2A Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents

All countries: September 1, 2023

F-2B Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents

Mexico: August 1, 2004
Philippines: October 1, 2013
All other countries: January 1, 2017

F3 Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens

Mexico: June 15, 2001
Philippines: November 8, 2003
All other countries: March 1, 2010

F-4 Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens

India: February 22, 2006
Mexico: April 15, 2001
Philippines: April 22, 2004
All other countries: March 1, 2008

FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES

According to the Department of State’s February 2024 Visa Bulletin , the following Final Action cutoff dates will apply for employment-based categories:

EB-1 India: The EB-1 India Final Action Date will remain at September 1, 2020.
EB-1 China: The EB-1 China Final Action Date will remain at July 1, 2022
EB-1 Worldwide: All other countries will remain current.
EB-2 India: The EB-2 Final Action Date for India will remain at March 1, 2012,
EB-2 China: The EB-2 China Final Action Date will remain at January 1, 2020.
EB-2 Worldwide: Final Action Dates for the remaining countries in EB-2 will advance by two weeks, to November 15, 2022.
EB-3 Professional/Skilled Workers: The EB-3 Professional/Skilled Worker Final Action for China, will remain at September 1, 2020. India will advance by one month to July 1, 2012. Final Action Dates for the remaining countries in this category will advance by one month to September 1, 2022.
EB-3 Other Workers: The EB-3 Other Workers Final Action Date for China will remain at January 1, 2017. India will advance by one month to July 1, 2012. Mexico will remain at September 1, 2020. Philippines will remain at May 1, 2020. Final Action Dates for the remaining countries in the category will remain at September 1, 2020.
EB-4: The EB-4 Final Action Date will remain at May 15, 2019 for all countries
EB-5: The EB-5 India Unreserved Final Action Date will remain at December 1, 2020, while the EB-5 China Unreserved Final Action date will advance by one week to, to December 15, 2015. The EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01JUL22	01SEP20	C	C
2nd	15NOV22	01JAN20	01MAR12	15NOV22	15NOV22
3rd	01SEP22	01SEP20	01JUL12	01SEP22	01SEP22
Other Workers	01SEP20	01JAN17	01JUL12	01SEP20	01MAY20
4th	15MAY19	15MAY19	15MAY19	15MAY19	15MAY19
Certain Religious Workers	15MAY19	15MAY19	15MAY19	15MAY19	15MAY19
5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	15DEC15	01DEC20	C	C
5th Set Aside: Rural (20%)	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%)	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%)	C	C	C	C	C

Final Action Dates for February 2024

EB-1

China: July 1, 2022
India: September 1, 2020
All other countries: Current

EB-2

China: January 1, 2020
India: March 1, 2012
All other countries: November 15, 2022 (Advancement)

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers

China: September 1, 2020
India: July 1, 2012 (Advancement)
All other countries: September 1, 2022 (Advancement)

EB-3 Other Workers

China: January 1, 2017
India: July 1, 2012 (Advancement)
Philippines: May 1, 2020
All other countries: September 1, 2020

EB-4

All countries: May 15, 2019

EB-5 Unreserved (Regional Center and Non-Regional Center)

China: December 15, 2015 (Advancement)
India: December 1, 2020
All other countries: Current

EB-5 Set-Asides

Rural: Current for all countries
High Unemployment: Current for all countries
Infrastructure: Current for all countries

DATES FOR FILING FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES

According to the Department of State’s February 2024 Visa Bulletin , the Dates for Filing cutoff dates remain the same as the previous month of January 2024.

EB-1: EB-1 India will advance by eighteen months to January 1, 2021, while China will advance by five months to January 1, 2023. All other countries will remain current in December.
EB-2: EB-2 China will advance by five months to June 1, 2020, while India will remain at May 15, 2012. All other countries will advance by six weeks to February 15, 2023.
EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: EB-3 India will remain at August 1, 2012. China will advance by ten months to July 1, 2021. EB-3 Worldwide and Mexico will remain at February 1, 2023. EB-3 Philippines will remain at January 1, 2023.
EB-3 Other Workers: India will remain at August 1, 2012, China will remain at June 1, 2017. EB-3 Worldwide and Mexico will remain at December 15, 2020. EB-3 Philippines will remain at May 15, 2020.
EB-4: All countries will advance by 6 months to September 1, 2019.
EB-5: For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), India will remain at April 1, 2022, and China will remain at January 1, 2017. All other countries will remain current. The EB-5 “Set-Aside” categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01JAN23	01JAN21	C	C
2nd	15FEB23	01JUN20	15MAY12	15FEB23	15FEB23
3rd	01FEB23	01JUL21	01AUG12	01FEB23	01JAN23
Other Workers	15DEC20	01JUN17	01AUG12	15DEC20	15MAY20
4th	01SEP19	01SEP19	01SEP19	01SEP19	01SEP19
Certain Religious Workers	01SEP19	01SEP19	01SEP19	01SEP19	01SEP19
5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	01JAN17	01APR22	C	C
5th Set Aside: (Rural – 20%)	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: (High Unemployment – 10%)	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: (Infrastructure – 2%)	C	C	C	C	C

Dates for Filing for February 2024 (unchanged from previous month)

EB-1

China: January 1, 2023
India: January 1, 2021
All other countries: Current

EB-2

China: June 1, 2020
India: May 15, 2012
All other countries: February 15, 2023

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers

China: July 1, 2021
India: August 1, 2012
Philippines: January 1, 2023
All other countries: February 1, 2023

EB-3 Other Workers

China: June 1, 2017
India: August 1, 2012
Philippines: May 15, 2020
All other countries: December 15, 2020

EB-4

All countries: September 1, 2019

EB-5 Unreserved (Regional Center and Non-Regional Center)

China: January 1, 2017
India: April 1, 2022
All other countries: Current

EB-5 Set-Asides

Rural: Current for all countries
High Unemployment: Current for all countries
Infrastructure: Current for all countries

The Takeaway

The February Dates for Filing remain the same as the previous month for both employment based, and family sponsored categories.

Employment-based

For the Final Action Dates, EB-1 Worldwide will remain current, EB-2 Worldwide will advance by two weeks to November 15, 2022, EB-3 Professional/Skilled Workers will advance by one month for India to July 1, 2012, and the rest of the world will advance by one month to September 1, 2022. EB-3 Other Workers, India will advance by one month to July 1, 2012, and the EB-5 unreserved category will advance by one week for China to December 15, 2015.

Family-sponsored

For the family sponsored categories, the Final Action Dates will remain the same as the previous month except for F2A. F2A Worldwide, China, India, and the Philippines will advance by more than 3 months to February 8, 2020, and F2A Mexico will advance by more than 3 months to February 1, 2020.

As we do every month, we will keep you updated on the upcoming movement and changes in the Visa Bulletin right here on our blog.

Contact Us. If you would like to schedule a consultation, please text 619-569-1768 or call 619-819-9204.

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