In a disappointing turn of events, the July 2024 Visa Bulletin has brought a mix of good and bad news. On one hand, we saw positive shifts across various categories, which is unusual since it’s common for the Final Action Dates or the Date of Filing Application sections to remain unchanged. However, on the other, this month’s bulletin marks the first announcement in 2024 where we cannot confidently say that there were positive shifts in dates all across the board. Diverging from the consistent positive streak we’ve seen this year, this month introduced the first instance of retrogression in 2024, albeit minimal and confined to one category. Should we take this as a warning? What does this mean for the future bulletin announcements?
Before we delve into that, let’s first take a look at the results of the July 2024 Visa Bulletin.
July 2024 Visa Bulletin Results
Here are the results of the July 2024 Visa Bulletin and the priority date changes for both family and employment-based categories.
Family-based
Final Action Date
- F1 All Other Chargeable Areas – July 8, 2015 to October 22, 2015 + 3 months & 14 days
- F1 China – July 8, 2015 to October 22, 2015 + 3 months & 14 days
- F1 India – July 8, 2015 to October 22, 2015 + 3 months & 14 days
- F1 Mexico – January 1, 2002 to May 8, 2002 + 4 months & 7 days
- F2B All Other Chargeable Areas – April 1, 2016 to May 1, 2016 + 1 month
- F2B China – April 1, 2016 to May 1, 2016 + 1 month
- F2B India – April 1, 2016 to May 1, 2016 + 1 month
- F3 All Other Chargeable Areas – March 1, 2010 to April 1, 2010 + 1 month
- F3 China – March 1, 2010 to April 1, 2010 + 1 month
- F3 India – March 1, 2010 to April 1, 2010 + 1 month
- F3 Mexico – December 1, 1999 to March 1, 2000 + 3 months
- F3 Philippines – August 22, 2002 to September 8, 2002 + 17 days
- F4 All Other Chargeable Areas – July 22, 2007 to August 1, 2007 + 10 days
- F4 China – July 22, 2007 to August 1, 2007 + 10 days
- F4 India – January 15, 2006 to January 22, 2006 + 7 days
- F4 Mexico – February 1, 2001 to February 8, 2001 + 7 days
- F4 Philippines – December 1, 2003 to February 1, 2004 + 2 months
Date of Filing Application
- F2A All Other Chargeable Areas – September 1, 2023 to November 1, 2023 + 2 months
- F2A Mexico – September 1, 2023 to November 1, 2023 + 2 months
- F2A India – September 1, 2023 to November 1, 2023 + 2 months
- F2A Mexico – September 1, 2023 to November 1, 2023 + 2 months
- F2A Philippines – September 1, 2023 to November 1, 2023 + 2 months
- F2B Mexico – November 1, 2004 to May 1, 2005 + 6 months
- F3 All Other Chargeable Areas – September 1, 2010 to October 1, 2010 + 1 month
- F3 China – September 1, 2010 to October 1, 2010 + 1 month
- F3 India – September 1, 2010 to October 1, 2010 + 1 month
- F4 Mexico – April 27, 2001 to April 28, 2001 + 1 day
- F4 Philippines – June 1, 2005 to April 1, 2006 + 10 months
Employment-based
Final Action Date
- EB1 China – September 1, 2022 to November 1, 2022 + 2 months
- EB1 India – March 1, 2021 to February 1, 2022 + 11 months
- EB2 All Other Chargeable Areas – January 15, 2023 to March 15, 2023 + 2 months
- EB2 China – February 1, 2020 to September 1, 2020 + 7 months
- EB2 India – April 15, 2012 to June 15, 2012 + 2 months
- EB2 Mexico – January 15, 2023 to March 15, 2023 + 2 months
- EB2 Philippines – January 15, 2023 to March 15, 2023 + 2 months
- EB3 All Other Chargeable Areas – November 22, 2022 to December 1, 2021 – 11 months and 21 days
- EB3 India – August 22, 2012 to September 22, 2012 + 1 month
- EB3 Mexico – November 22, 2022 to December 1, 2021 – 11 months and 21 days
- EB3 Philippines – November 22, 2022 to December 1, 2021 – 11 months and 21 days
- EB Other Workers All Other Chargeable Areas – October 8, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 2 months & 24 days
- EB Other Workers India – August 22, 2012 to September 22, 2012 + 1 month
- EB Other Workers Mexico – October 8, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 2 months & 24 days
- EB4 All Other Chargeable Areas – November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
- EB4 China – November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
- EB4 India – November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
- EB4 Mexico – November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
- EB4 Philippines – November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
- Certain Religious Workers All Other Chargeable Areas- November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
- Certain Religious Workers China – November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
- Certain Religious Workers India – November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
- Certain Religious Workers Mexico – November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
- Certain Religious Workers Philippines – November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 + 1 month
Date of Filing Application
- EB1 India – April 1, 2021 to February 8, 2022 + 10 months & 7 days
- EB2 All Other Chargeable Areas – February 15, 2023 to March 22, 2023 + 1 month & 7 days
- EB2 India – May 15, 2012 to June 22, 2012 + 1 month & 7 days
- EB2 Mexico – February 15, 2023 to March 22, 2023 + 1 month & 7 days
- EB2 Philippines – February 15, 2023 to March 22, 2023 + 1 month & 7 days
- Other Workers All Other Chargeable Areas – December 15, 2020 to January 8, 2021 + 24 days
- Other Workers India – September 15, 2012 to October 1, 2012 + 16 days
- Other Workers Mexico – December 15, 2020 to January 8, 2021 + 24 days
- EB4 All Other Chargeable Area – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
- EB4 China – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
- EB4 India – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
- EB4 Mexico – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
- EB4 Philippines – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
- Certain Religious Workers All Other Chargeable Areas – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
- Certain Religious Workers China – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
- Certain Religious Workers India – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
- Certain Religious Workers Mexico – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
- Certain Religious Workers Philippines – December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021 + 2 months
Positive Shifts in the Family-Based Visa Categories
In our July 2024 Visa Bulletin Predictions article, we discussed the potential impact of the new USCIS Guidance for Family-Based Immigrant Visas. As a reminder, on May 22, 2024, USCIS released new guidance that were designed to make the process more efficient and clarify procedures for applicants and their beneficiaries. By reducing delays and making procedures more straightforward, the processing of family-based petitions could speed up. We predicted that this announcement would influence the cut-off dates and availability of visas in the July 2024 Visa Bulletin, potentially resulting in more positive shifts.
Luckily, our predictions were correct. The Family-Based Categories saw a slew of positive shifts this month and no retrogression. We continue to hope that these impacts have long-term effects that bring substantial positive shifts in future Visa Bulletin announcements.
Retrogression in the Employment-Based Visa Category
While the Family-Based Visa Category remained stable, the Employment-Based Visa Category faced an unfortunate turn of events. The Final Action Date for EB3 Visas saw a negative shift of almost a year. Although this was not entirely unexpected, given our remaining suspicious after a year of positive shifts, it is disheartening news nevertheless.
We must be vigilant in the coming months, as this retrogression could signal the beginning of more negative adjustments. The consistency of positive shifts we’ve seen this year might be facing a turning point, and the next few Visa Bulletin announcements will be crucial in determining if this is an isolated incident or the start of a trend.
August 2024 Visa Bulletin Predictions
As we have also noted in our analysis of the June 2024 Visa Bulletin announcement, despite the plethora of positive shifts, the magnitude of these shifts has been decreasing. Over the year, while we’ve consistently seen positive changes, their magnitude has been growing smaller, often only by a month or two. This indicated potential stagnation and even a pullback in dates.
Unfortunately, this month’s retrogression in the Employment-Based Category might be the first sign for more such adjustments. As we look forward to the August 2024 Visa Bulletin, we can hope that this month’s negative shift was just an anomaly. However, it would be wise to prepare for possible further retrogressions, particularly in the employment-based visa category. The USCIS might need to adjust the priority dates to manage the visa numbers better.
We will continue to monitor the trends closely and provide you with the most up-to-date analysis and predictions. Stay tuned for our next update, and let’s hope for a more favorable outcome in August 2024.
Check back soon for our detailed August 2024 Visa Bulletin Predictions article. See the U.S. Department of State website to view the August 2024 Visa Bulletin.
