On August 27, the State Department announced the issuance of all available visas in the Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) category for fiscal year (FY) 2024. On August 16, the State Department announced the issuance of all legally available visas in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) and Other Workers (EW) categories, and Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) unreserved category for fiscal year (FY) 2024.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) limits the number of employment-based preference immigrant visas that may be issued within a fiscal year.
Since all available EB-1, EB-3, EB-5, and EW visas for FY 2024 have been used, embassies and consulates may not issue visas in these categories for the remainder of the fiscal year.
What’s next: The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year (FY 2025) on October 1, 2024. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in these categories to qualified applicants.
Erickson Immigration Group will continue to monitor developments and share updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions.