The immigration team at Song Law Firm offers insights into the January 2024 Visa Bulletin announcement by the State Department. According to this bulletin board, the filing dates for family-based immigrants across all categories have been frozen in comparison to December, while approval dates have moved forward except for the first preference. In the realm of employment-based immigrants, quotas 1 and 5 continue to remain open, and there has been progress in the availability dates for all but quota 3. Additionally, all employment-based immigrants categories have made progress on their available dates, with the exception of Tier 1 and Tier 5, which remain open.
Please refer to the table below for details.
| Family- Sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01APR05 | 22APR15 |
| F2A | 01SEP23 | 01SEP23 | 01SEP23 | 01SEP23 | 01SEP23 |
| F2B | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01AUG04 | 01OCT13 |
| F3 | 01MAR10 | 01MAR10 | 01MAR10 | 15JUN01 | 08NOV03 |
| F4 | 01MAR08 | 01MAR08 | 22FEB06 | 15APR01 | 22APR04 |
| Employment- based | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 01JUL22 | 01SEP20 | C | C |
| 2nd | 01NOV22 | 01JAN20 | 01MAR12 | 01NOV22 | 01NOV22 |
| 3rd | 01AUG22 | 01SEP20 | 01JUN12 | 01AUG22 | 01AUG22 |
| Other Workers | 01SEP20 | 01JAN17 | 01JUN12 | 01SEP20 | 01MAY20 |
| 4th | 15MAY19 | 15MAY19 | 15MAY19 | 15MAY19 | 15MAY19 |
| Certain Religious Workers | 15MAY19 | 15MAY19 | 15MAY19 | 15MAY19 | 15MAY19 |
| 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5) | C | 08DEC15 | 01DEC20 | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Rural (20%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%) | C | C | C | C | C |
Applicants residing in the U.S. and applying for adjustment of status (I-485) should refer to the “When to File an Adjustment of Status Application” page published by USCIS with the bulletin. The January bulletin specifies that both family preference and employment-based immigrant categories will adhere to the “Dates for Filing” chart in the bulletin.
Filing an Adjustment of Status Application (I-485) without verifying your Priority Date and the Dates for Filing on the bulletin may result in rejection and return of your application. It is crucial to ensure that your priority date precedes the filing date before initiating the green card application process.
If you have questions about green cards and immigration visas, please contact mail@songlawfirm.com.