US Department of State Releases May 2024 Visa Bulletin

Waiting for your priority date is one of the most important steps in obtaining your green card in the United States. For immigrants who have invested time, money, and effort in obtaining an immigrant visa, many questions arise, such as “How long will it take my date to be up to date?” or “Can I expedite this process?”

We offer monthly updates on the latest visa bulletin and analyze date changes. The visa bulletin for May 2024 is here! This bulletin contains everything you need to know about the projected movements of employment-based categories and family-sponsored categories in May.

If you’re one of the many people anxiously awaiting your turn in the immigration lines for employment-based or family-based green cards, here are the timeline changes in May’s visa bulletin.

The Family-Based Preferences

There are four levels of family immigration. These levels are based on the relationship between the sponsoring family member and the beneficiary. There are five chargeability areas for the family immigration category. These are China, India, Mexico, Philippines, and others.

The family-based immigrant visa category sometimes sees low usage numbers because of the low number of appointments at overseas consulates. Any unused family-based visa gets added to the EB category.

The Employment-Based Preferences

The USCIS issues employment-based category visas through the job or occupation to five distinct preference levels and seven chargeability areas. These chargeability areas include China, India, Mexico, Philippines, Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador), Vietnam, and the general category.

Changes in filing dates chart

The filing dates chart for family-sponsored preference categories remains the same as the previous month’s, except for F2B for Mexico, which advances by one calendar month to 1 September 2004. F3 worldwide, China, and India will make three-month advances to June 1.

F4 India will advance 2.2 months to June 15, Mexico will advance one week to April 22, and the Philippines will increase by one month to June 1. The filing dates for employment-based petitions are the same as the previous month.

Changes in the final action dates chart

The final action dates chart shows no change for all the employment-based preference categories.

On the other hand, the chart below shows the final action dates for family-sponsored categories that advanced in almost every category as follows:

Adjustment of Status (AOS) filing dates chart

For AOS in May 2024, the USCIS will resume using the same submission dates for all categories of family-sponsored preferences. The final action dates chart for all types of employment-based preferences remains the same regarding AOS to the US permanent residency.

Conclusion

Regarding immigration law, there is no such thing as too much information. The more information you have regarding your immigration status, the more likely you will be to make well-informed decisions about your case. Stay up-to-date by following up on our news alert section, joining our newsletter list, or visiting the USCIS website regularly.