September 2024 Visa Bulletin
Data verified August 24, 2026
Your line
Or go straight to a category history
What changed in the September 2024 bulletin
- EB3 All other countries · Mexico · the PhilippinesThe same move for all other chargeability areas, Mexico, and the Philippines.
- EB3 Other Workers All other countries · MexicoThe same move for all other chargeability areas and Mexico.
In brief
- 5 of 150 cutoff entries moved; 5 retrogressed.
- Largest move: EB3 for 3 chargeability areas, −1y.
- Final action dates moved in 0 family-sponsored categories and 2 employment-based categories.
The September 2024 bulletin holds every family final action date where it was. On the employment side, EB3 for all other chargeability areas, Mexico, and the Philippines retrogress 1 year.
| Category | All Areas | China-mainland born | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens | Oct 22, 2015no change | Oct 22, 2015no change | Oct 22, 2015no change | May 8, 2002no change | Mar 1, 2012no change |
| F2ASpouses and Children of Permanent Residents | Nov 15, 2021no change | Nov 15, 2021no change | Nov 15, 2021no change | Feb 1, 2021no change | Nov 15, 2021no change |
| F2BUnmarried Sons and Daughters (21+) of Permanent Residents | May 1, 2016no change | May 1, 2016no change | May 1, 2016no change | Jul 15, 2004no change | Oct 22, 2011no change |
| F3Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens | Apr 1, 2010no change | Apr 1, 2010no change | Apr 1, 2010no change | Mar 1, 2000no change | Sep 8, 2002no change |
| F4Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens | Aug 1, 2007no change | Aug 1, 2007no change | Jan 22, 2006no change | Feb 8, 2001no change | Feb 1, 2004no change |
| Category | All Areas | China-mainland born | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens | Sep 1, 2017no change | Sep 1, 2017no change | Sep 1, 2017no change | Apr 1, 2005no change | Apr 22, 2015no change |
| F2ASpouses and Children of Permanent Residents | Jun 15, 2024no change | Jun 15, 2024no change | Jun 15, 2024no change | Jun 15, 2024no change | Jun 15, 2024no change |
| F2BUnmarried Sons and Daughters (21+) of Permanent Residents | Jan 1, 2017no change | Jan 1, 2017no change | Jan 1, 2017no change | May 1, 2005no change | Oct 1, 2013no change |
| F3Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens | Jan 1, 2011no change | Jan 1, 2011no change | Jan 1, 2011no change | Jun 15, 2001no change | Nov 8, 2003no change |
| F4Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens | Mar 1, 2008no change | Mar 1, 2008no change | Jun 15, 2006no change | Apr 30, 2001no change | Apr 1, 2006no change |
From the Department’s notes for September 2024
7 sections, reproduced verbatim from the U.S. Department of State’s September 2024 Visa Bulletin. The Department’s words, not ours.
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS FOR PREFERENCE IMMIGRANT VISAS
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during September for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.
Unless otherwise indicated on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website at www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo , individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS must use the “Final Action Dates” charts below for determining when they can file such applications. When USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, USCIS will state on its website that applicants may instead use the “Dates for Filing Visa Applications” charts in this Bulletin.
1. Procedures for determining dates. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; USCIS reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations in the charts below were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by August 2nd . If not all demand could be satisfied, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The final action date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. If it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a final action date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new final action date announced in this bulletin. If at any time an annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers would be honored.
2. The fiscal year 2024 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants determined in accordance with Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is 226,000. The fiscal year 2024 limit for employment-based preference immigrants calculated under INA 201 is 160,791. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 27,075 for FY-2024. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,736.
3. INA Section 203(e) provides that family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in behalf of each has been filed. Section 203(d) provides that spouses and children of preference immigrants are entitled to the same status, and the same order of consideration, if accompanying or following to join the principal. The visa prorating provisions of Section 202(e) apply to allocations for a foreign state or dependent area when visa issuances will exceed the per-country limit. These provisions apply at present to the following oversubscribed chargeability areas: CHINA-mainland born, INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES.
4. Section 203(a) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Family-sponsored immigrant visas as follows:
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First : ( F1 ) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second : Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:
A. ( F2A ) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. ( F2B ) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents: 23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third : ( F3 ) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth : ( F4 ) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
C. THE DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS WHICH WILL APPLY IN OCTOBER
For October , immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2025 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
Region
All DV Chargeability Areas Except
Those Listed Separately
AFRICA
15,000
Except: Algeria 6,500
Egypt 8,250
Morocco 8,250
ASIA
3,000
Except: Iran 2,950
Nepal 2,950
EUROPE
6,000
Except: Russia 5,950
Uzbekistan 4,900
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)
2
OCEANIA
500
SOUTH AMERICA,
and the CARIBBEAN
825
D. AVAILABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISAS DURING SEPTEMBER
There has been a steady increase in both USCIS and Department of State demand patterns for employment-based visas during the fiscal year. As a result, most employment-based preference category limits for FY 2024 are expected to be reached during September, if not sooner. If at any time an annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers would be honored.
E. RETROTRESSION IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED THIRD PREFERENCE (EB-3) AND “OTHER WORKERS” (EW) CATEGORIES
As readers were informed was possible in Item D of the July 2024 and August 2024 Visa Bulletin , it has become necessary to retrogress the EB-3 final action dates for Rest of World, Mexico, and the Philippines, as well as the EW final action dates for Rest of World and Mexico. The issuance totals in these categories are rapidly approaching the annual limit for FY-2024, necessitating this slowdown of issuance rates. It is anticipated that the final action dates will advance in October 2024; however, date movement will depend on worldwide demand for EB-3 and EW visas and the estimated FY-2025 category limit.
F. DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY 2025 (DV-2025) RESULTS
The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the selectees who are eligible to participate in the DV-2025 Diversity Visa (DV) program. Random selection of DV participants was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes up to *55,000 permanent resident visas available annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Approximately 131,060 prospective applicants (i.e., selectees and their spouses and children) have been registered, can confirm their selection, and may be eligible to make an application for an immigrant visa. Since selection is random and blind to the number of family members who might immigrate with the selectee, and it is likely that some of the selectees will not complete their cases or will be found ineligible for a visa, this larger figure should ensure that all DV-2025 numbers can be used during fiscal year 2025 (FY25: October 1, 2024, until September 30, 2025).
Entrants registered for the DV-2025 program were selected at random from 19,927,656 qualified entries received during the 35-day application period that ran from noon, Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, until noon, Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. The visas will be apportioned among the six geographic regions to ensure a maximum of seven percent are issued to persons chargeable to any single country. During the visa interview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years. Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly. Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fully complete all required steps.
Selectees who are physically present with legal status in the United States may apply to adjust their status by first contacting the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for information on the requirements and procedures. Once the total *55,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2025 will end. Selectees who do not receive visas or status by September 30, 2025, will derive no further benefit from their DV-2025 registration. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2025 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2025.
Dates for the DV-2026 program registration period will be widely publicized in the coming months. Those interested in entering the DV-2026 program should check the Department of State’s Diversity Visa web page in the coming months.
*The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program. This will result in reduction of the DV-2025 annual limit to approximately 54,850. Additionally, Section 5104 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 amended the NACARA’s provisions on the Diversity Visa program such that the number of visas made available under the NDAA will also be deducted from the 55,000 DVs annually allocated. This will result in an additional reduction of the DV-2025 annual limit to approximately 51,350.
The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign state of chargeability of those registered for the DV-2025 program:
AFRICA
ALGERIA 5,526
ESWATINI 6
NAMIBIA 5
ANGOLA 738
ETHIOPIA 3,674
NIGER 70
BENIN 1,032
GABON 81
RWANDA 1,385
BOTSWANA 7
GAMBIA, THE 159
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE 3
BURKINA FASO 262
GHANA 2,686
SENEGAL 656
BURUNDI 773
GUINEA 1,291
SIERRA LEONE 957
CABO VERDE 52
GUINEA-BISSAU 12
SOMALIA 966
CAMEROON 3,962
KENYA 4,459
SOUTH AFRICA 163
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 29
LESOTHO 10
SOUTH SUDAN 32
CHAD 419
LIBERIA 2,004
SUDAN 5,505
COMOROS 4
LIBYA 192
TANZANIA 371
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE 2,729
MADAGASCAR 35
TOGO 2,287
CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE 513
MALAWI 61
TUNISIA 96
COTE D’IVOIRE 883
MALI 167
UGANDA 1,061
DJIBOUTI 132
MAURITANIA 228
ZAMBIA 118
EGYPT 5,515
MAURITIUS 2
ZIMBABWE 210
EQUATORIAL GUINEA 24
MOROCCO 4,237
ERITREA 142
MOZAMBIQUE 11
ASIA
AFGHANISTAN 4,009
JORDAN 775
SAUDI ARABIA 420
BAHRAIN 4
KOREA, NORTH 1
SINGAPORE 11
BHUTAN 269
KUWAIT 105
SRI LANKA 1,618
BURMA 1,723
LAOS 63
SYRIA 431
CAMBODIA 457
LEBANON 115
TAIWAN 227
INDONESIA 193
MALAYSIA 34
THAILAND 405
IRAN 5,267
MONGOLIA 174
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 153
IRAQ 667
NEPAL 3,861
YEMEN 1,894
ISRAEL 104
OMAN 13
JAPAN 149
QATAR 56
EUROPE
ALBANIA 1,598
GEORGIA 1,342
NORTH MACEDONIA 188
ANDORRA 3
GERMANY 479
NORTHERN IRELAND 6
ARMENIA 2,971
GREECE 37
NORWAY 7
AUSTRIA 51
HUNGARY 97
POLAND 309
AZERBAIJAN 1,730
ICELAND 5
PORTUGAL 38
BELARUS 1,577
IRELAND 29
Macau 6
BELGIUM 49
ITALY 263
ROMANIA 199
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 35
KAZAKHSTAN 2,004
RUSSIA 5,519
BULGARIA 107
KOSOVO 260
SERBIA 154
CROATIA 7
KYRGYZSTAN 3,095
SLOVAKIA 26
CYPRUS 14
LATVIA 43
SLOVENIA 3
CZECH REPUBLIC 28
LIECHTENSTEIN 1
SPAIN 142
DENMARK 28
LITHUANIA 89
SWEDEN 49
Faroe Islands 1
LUXEMBOURG 4
SWITZERLAND 42
Greenland 1
MALTA 3
TAJIKISTAN 2,982
ESTONIA 23
MOLDOVA 1,413
TURKEY 4,194
FINLAND 18
MONTENEGRO 38
TURKMENISTAN 2,010
FRANCE 275
NETHERLANDS 34
UKRAINE 4,002
French Polynesia 2
Aruba 1
UZBEKISTAN 5,564
Saint Barthelemy 2
NORTH AMERICA
BAHAMAS, THE 19
OCEANIA
AUSTRALIA 894
NAURU 17
SAMOA 16
Christmas Island 1
NEW ZEALAND 302
SOLOMON ISLANDS 15
Cocos (Keeling) Islands 53
Tokelau 15
TONGA 266
COOK ISLANDS 27
NIUE 1
TUVALU 4
FIJI 2,359
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 22
VANUATU 5
KIRIBATI 32
REPUBLIC OF PALAU 24
SOUTH AMERICA
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA 5
DOMINICA 4
PARAGUAY 20
ARGENTINA 130
ECUADOR 795
PERU 657
BARBADOS 4
GRENADA 1
SAINT LUCIA 6
BELIZE 1
GUATEMALA 230
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES 7
BOLIVIA 102
GUYANA 18
SURINAME 6
CHILE 61
NICARAGUA 86
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 40
COSTA RICA 72
PANAMA 29
URUGUAY 29
CUBA 2,348
Natives of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2025: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
G. DETERMINATION OF THE NUMERICAL LIMITS ON IMMIGRANTS REQUIRED UNDER THE TERMS OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT (INA)
The State Department is required to make the determination of the worldwide numerical limitations, as outlined in Section 201(c) and (d) of the INA, on an annual basis. These calculations are based in part on data provided by U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding the number of immediate relative adjustments in the preceding year and the number of aliens paroled into the United States under Section 212(d)(5) in the second preceding year. Without this information, it is impossible to make an official determination of the annual limits. To avoid delays in processing while waiting for the USCIS data, the Visa Office (VO) bases allocations on reasonable estimates of the anticipated amount of visa numbers to be available under the annual limits, in accordance with Section 203(g) of the INA. On July 19th, USCIS provided the required data to the VO.
The Department of State has determined the Family and Employment preference numerical limits for FY-2024 in accordance with the terms of Section 201 of the INA. These numerical limitations for FY-2024 are as follows:
Worldwide Family-Sponsored preference limit: 226,000
Worldwide Employment-Based preference limit: 160,791
Under INA Section 202(a)(2), the per-country limit is fixed at 7% of the combined total family and employment annual limits. For FY-2024 the per-country limit is therefore 27,075. The dependent area annual limit is 2%, or 7,736. Note that these figures do not account for carryover provisions in accordance with INA 203(b)(5)(B). With these carryover visa numbers included, the per-country limit is 27,837 and the dependent area limit is 7,953.
H. U.S. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISAS (SIVs)
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, signed into law on December 22, 2023, may affect certain current and former employees of the U.S. Government abroad applying for SIVs or adjustment of status, as described in section 101(a)(27)(D) of the INA. This does not affect certain Iraqis and Afghans applying for SQ and SI SIVs. Applicants should contact the consular section at which they filed their Form DS‑1884 for further information on the impact of that law on their case.
I. FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON VISA PROCESSING AT U.S. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES, PLEASE VISIT THE BUREAU OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS WEBSITE AT TRAVEL.STATE.GOV
Get the movement, monthly
One email after each bulletin: what moved in your categories, from the archive. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Digests begin once the list reaches critical mass. Privacy: dates you check are never stored — privacy policy.
Understanding the Two Charts
Final Action Dates
For issuance of Green Cards. If your priority date is earlier than the date shown for your category and country, a visa number is available and your case can be approved. “Current” means all priority dates are being processed; “Unavailable” means no visa numbers are authorized this month.
Dates for Filing
For submitting I-485 applications. This chart shows the earliest priority date at which you may assemble and submit documents — ahead of final action — when USCIS designates this chart as usable for the month. It lets applicants get in line earlier while waiting for a visa number.