The U.S. Department of State released its Visa Bulletin for April 2024. That’s a big deal if you’re waiting for your priority date to be current so that your green card application can move forward.

If you don’t know what a “visa bulletin” or a “priority date” is, we’ve got you covered. Start by checking out the Boundless guide on How to Read the Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin for April 2024

If you’re already familiar with those terms, scroll down to our summary of key developments or to the filing category that’s most relevant to you:

Family-based categories

• F-1: Unmarried Children (Age 21 and Older) of U.S. Citizens
• F-2A: Spouses and Unmarried Children (Under Age 21) of U.S. Green Card Holders
• F-2B: Unmarried Children (Age 21 or Older) of U.S. Green Card Holders
• F-3: Married Children of U.S. Citizens
• F-4: Siblings of U.S. Citizens

Employment-based categories

• EB-1: Extraordinary People, Outstanding Researchers and Professors, and Multinational Executives and Managers
• EB-2: Exceptional People and Advanced Degree Holders
• EB-3: Bachelor’s Degree Holders, Skilled Workers, and Unskilled Workers
• EB-4: Special Immigrants
• EB-5: Investors

Every month, USCIS announces whether applicants already living in the United States should file their “adjustment of status” applications based on the “Final Action Dates” or the “Dates for Filing.”

For March, family-based applicants — except those in the F-2A category — must use the “Dates for Filing” (available on the State Department’s website), whereas F-2A must use the “Final Action Dates.” Employment-based visa applicants must use the Dates for Filing, as must applicants filing from outside the United States.

Family-Based Green Card Backlogs

• F-1: UNMARRIED CHILDREN (AGE 21 AND OLDER) OF U.S. CITIZENS

Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
General Category	15-May-16	15-May-16	No Change
China	15-May-16	15-May-16	No Change
India	15-May-16	15-May-16	No Change
Mexico	1-Apr-01	1-Feb-01	-2 month
Philippines	22-Apr-15	22-Apr-15	No Change

This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a 2-month change.

• F-2A: SPOUSES AND UNMARRIED CHILDREN (UNDER AGE 21) OF U.S. GREEN CARD HOLDERS

Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
General Category	No wait	No wait	No Change
China	No wait	No wait	No Change
India	No wait	No wait	No Change
Mexico	No wait	No wait	No Change
Philippines	No wait	No wait	No Change

This category sees no change, with all countries remaining current.

• F-2B: UNMARRIED CHILDREN (AGE 21 OR OLDER) OF U.S. GREEN CARD HOLDERS

Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
General Category	22-Sep-16	22-Sep-16	No Change
China	22-Sep-16	22-Sep-16	No Change
India	22-Sep-16	22-Sep-16	No Change
Mexico	1-Apr-01	1-Mar-01	-1 month
Philippines	1-Oct-13	1-Oct-13	No Change

This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a change of 1 month.

• F-3: MARRIED CHILDREN OF U.S. CITIZENS

Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
General Category	22-Aug-09	22-Aug-09	No Change
China	22-Aug-09	22-Aug-09	No Change
India	22-Aug-09	22-Aug-09	No Change
Mexico	1-Mar-00	8-Oct-00	-4 months, 3 weeks
Philippines	1-Oct-03	1-Oct-03	No Change

This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a change of 4 months and 3 weeks.

• F-4: SIBLINGS OF U.S. CITIZENS

Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
General Category	1-Oct-07	1-Oct-07	No Change
China	1-Oct-07	1-Oct-07	No Change
India	1-Jan-06	1-Jan-06	No Change
Mexico	1-Sept-00	22-Aug-99	-1 year, 1 week
Philippines	1-Feb-04	1-Feb-04	No Change

This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a change of 1 year and 1 week.

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• EB-1: EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE, OUTSTANDING RESEARCHERS AND PROFESSORS, AND MULTINATIONAL EXECUTIVES AND MANAGERS

Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
General Category	No wait	No wait	No Change
China	No wait	No wait	No Change
Central America	No wait	No wait	No Change
India	No wait	No wait	No Change
Mexico	No wait	No wait	No Change
Philippines	No wait	No wait	No Change

This category sees no change for all countries.

• EB-2: EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE AND ADVANCED DEGREE HOLDERS

Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
General Category	No wait	No wait	No Change
China	1-Apr-19	1-Apr-19	No Change
Central America	No wait	No wait	No Change
India	1-Sept-13	1-Sept-13	No Change
Mexico	No wait	No wait	No Change
Philippines	No wait	No wait	No Change

This category sees no change for all countries.

• EB-3: BACHELOR’S DEGREE HOLDERS, SKILLED WORKERS, AND UNSKILLED WORKERS

Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
General Category	No wait	No wait	No Change
China	1-Apr-18	1-Apr-18	No Change
Central America	No wait	No wait	No Change
India	22-Jan-12	22-Jan-12	No Change
Mexico	No wait	No wait	No Change
Philippines	No wait	No wait	No Change

This category sees no change for all countries.

• In the EB-4 “special immigrants” category, no change for all countries/regions except Central America, which regressed by 2 years and 1 month. In the EB-5 “investors” category, all countries remain current or see no change.

Category	Country	New Cut-off Date	Old Cut-off Date	Change in Wait Time
EB-4: Special Immigrants	General Category	No wait	No wait	No Change
	China	No wait	No wait	No Change
	Central America	15-Jun-17	15-May-19	-2 years, 1 month
	India	No wait	No wait	No Change
	Mexico	No wait	No wait	No Change
	Philippines	No wait	No wait	No Change
	Vietnam	No wait	No wait	No Change
EB-5: Investors	General Category	No wait	No wait	No Change
	China	15-Dec-15	15-Dec-15	No Change
	Central America	No wait	No wait	No Change
	India	No wait	No wait	No Change
	Mexico	No wait	No wait	No Change
	Philippines	No wait	No wait	No Change
	Vietnam	No wait	No wait	No Change

Why This Matters

If you’re in line for a green card, it’s important to keep track of actual changes (and likely future developments) in the Visa Bulletin. It’s always a good idea to prepare all the documents needed for your green card application ahead of time, so you can be ready to file as quickly as possible once the Visa Bulletin shows that a green card is available to you. By failing to file in a month when a green card is available, you risk facing a surprise backward movement (“retrogression”) in the next Visa Bulletin, which would close your window of opportunity for filing a green card application. Stay tuned for next month’s update! As always, we’ll highlight all the important changes for you.

Not sure if you qualify for a marriage based green card?

Start by checking your eligibility.

Source:https://bit.ly/3C2J1Vm

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