Updates on Green Cards and Work Visas in December 2024: Important Information for Applicants

The U.S. Department of State has released its December 2024 Visa Bulletin, which provides important updates for foreign nationals waiting for Green Card and work visas. The monthly update is significant for foreign nationals waiting for a Green Card, as it provides insight into possible waiting periods. The updated deadline will apply to both Green Card applicants and those applying for a change of immigration status.

Family categories: waiting times and filing dates for family-sponsored Green Card applications.

There are no changes in the family visas section compared to the November bulletin. The maximum number of family-sponsored visas for FY 2024 is 226,000, with a country-by-country cap of 7% of the total annual cap. The major categories of family visas include:

• F1: Unmarried children of U.S. citizens.
• F2: Spouses (F2A) and unmarried children (F2B) of permanent residents.
• F3: Married children of U.S. citizens.
• F4: Siblings of adult U.S. citizens.

Applicants are advised to familiarize themselves with the filing dates to determine their eligibility in the various categories.

Work categories: priority dates for employment-sponsored Green Cards.

As far as work visas are concerned, the new visa policy mainly affects Indian Citizens. The December 2024 Visa Bulletin made little change to the filing and final action dates for EB categories. However, there were some changes for Indian applicants:

• EB-2 (professionals with higher education): The final action date has been pushed back two weeks to August 1, 2012.
• EB-3 (professionals, skilled laborers and other workers): The final decision date has been moved up one week to November 8, 2012.
• For all other employment categories, the final action dates remain unchanged, including the EB-4 category, which includes certain religious workers.

Applicants are advised to closely monitor updates and plan their actions according to the new information to make the best use of the opportunities the Visa Bulletin provides.

Follow the news on Buch-dein-Visum.de to keep up to date with all changes in visa policy and to receive up-to-date travel planning advice.