EB-1 Immigrant Visa Category Unavailable Through September 30 After Reaching Annual Limit for FY 2024

The State Department has announced that the annual limit for the EB-1 immigrant visa category has been met for FY 2024. As a result, the category is immediately unavailable and will remain so through September 30, the end of the fiscal year. U.S. embassies and consulates cannot issue immigrant visas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cannot approve adjustment of status applications in the EB-1 category through September 30.

Annual immigrant visa limits will reset with the start of the FY 2025 fiscal year on October 1, 2024. At that point, USCIS will be able to resume approving adjustment of status cases and embassies and consulates will be able to resume issuing immigrant visas in the EB-1 and any other currently unavailable categories. The EB-3 and EB-5 Unreserved immigrant visa categories became unavailable in mid-August.

In its September Visa Bulletin, the State Department predicted that due to continuing increased visa demand, employment-based immigrant visa annual limits could be exhausted for many categories and countries in September or earlier. The agency anticipates that Final Action dates will advance at the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, but date movements will depend on actual immigrant visa demand.