Green Card and work visas: key updates to the December 2024 U.S. Visa Bulletin

The U.S. Department of State has published the Visa Bulletin for December 2024, which contains important updates regarding Green Card and work visas. This monthly update is of particular importance to foreign nationals waiting for a Green Card, as it provides insight into the waiting periods associated with their application. The new timelines will apply to both Green Card applicants and those who are changing their immigration status.

Family application categories

The Visa Bulletin showed no change in wait times and filing dates for family sponsorship-related visas from the November Bulletin. For FY 2024, the maximum number of visas that can be issued under family sponsorship is 226,000. Each country has a cap of 7% of the total annual number of visas issued under the family and EB category.

The preference structure for family visas includes:

• F1: Unmarried children of U.S. citizens.
• F2: Spouses and unmarried children of permanent residents.
• F3: Married children of U.S. citizens.
• F4: Siblings of adult U.S. citizens.

Applicants should be attentive to the filing dates to determine their ability to participate in the established categories.

Deadline dates for work visas

With respect to the work visa category, there have been no significant changes. The December 2024 Visa Bulletin shows stable filing and final action dates for most EB Green Card categories.

However, there are some changes for Indian applicants in EB-2 and EB-3 categories:

• EB-2 for India (professionals with higher education): the final action date has been pushed back two weeks to August 1, 2012, .
• EB-3 for India (skilled laborers, professionals and other workers): the final decision date is pushed back one week to November 8, 2012.
• For the remaining employment categories, including EB-4 with religious workers, the dates remain the same, unchanged.

These updates are important for potential applicants as it helps them better plan their steps through the immigration process.

Stay informed of any changes in visa policy and get up-to-date travel planning tips by following the news at Visa-Navigator.com.