June Bulletin Out, Not Looking Good for EB-2 Dates

Just this week, the Department of State released its June 2024 visa bulletin.  First, there has been no change in the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing:  The final Action Date is still January 15, 2023, and the Dates for Filing are still February 15, 2023.  Unfortunately, the DOS also indicated as follows towards the bottom of the bulletin in the section in which they give a glimpse of the future:

High demand in the Employment Second category will most likely necessitate retrogression of the worldwide final action date (including Mexico and Philippines) in the next month to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the Fiscal Year 2024 annual limit. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

So what does this mean?  This means they are coming to the end of the quota for EB-2 immigrant visas allocated for this fiscal year.  Once they run out, they can no longer allocate any immigrant visa numbers to anyone, so they must retrogress the category to a date on which they know no one is waiting for visas.   So, in the short term, this means no forward movement for the rest of this fiscal year, and, most likely, there will be retrogression in June or July as well.

In the long term, this means that there are a lot of cases in the backlog, and this may not clear up quickly, and it may take longer for cases to become current than the current dates indicate (which is about 1.5 years).  However, there are still too many unknowns to know exactly how much this will extend things.  Hopefully, in the next fiscal year, starting on October 1, 2024, we will get a better idea from USCIS and DOS about the backlog and how long it will likely extend things.

As always, we will update you as new information becomes available. Please remember that this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.