EB-2 visa hits 2024 limit: Wait until October 1 to apply for US immigration

If you are hoping to apply for an EB-2 visa for the US this year, you may need to wait a little longer. The US State Department and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have announced that the cap for visas under the Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) category has already been reached for the financial year 2024. No more EB-2 visas will be issued until the next financial year begins on October 1, 2024.

What is the EB-2 visa?

The EB-2 visa is designed for foreign nationals with advanced degrees or exceptional abilities in their fields. It allows highly skilled workers to live and work in the US permanently. The visa is split into three subcategories:

EB-2A: Advanced Degree Professionals
 

This applies to individuals with advanced degrees such as a master’s, doctorate, or a bachelor's degree plus at least five years of progressive work experience.

EB-2B: Exceptional Ability
 

This is for people who have exceptional abilities in areas like the arts, sciences, or business. To qualify, you need to prove that your skills are well above the norm and that your contributions will benefit the US economy or culture.

EB-2C: National Interest Waiver (NIW)
 

You can apply for this subcategory if your work is considered valuable to the national interest of the US. This is common for researchers and professionals who have made important contributions in their fields. In this case, you can even self-petition, without needing an employer to sponsor you.

An EB-2 visa usually requires sponsorship from a US employer unless you qualify for the National Interest Waiver, where self-petitioning is possible.

If your I-140 petition is approved, your spouse and unmarried children under 21 may be eligible to enter the US in E-21 and E-22 immigrant status, respectively.

What limits has the USCIS set?

For 2024, the limit on EB-2 visas was set at 28.6% of the total employment-based visas available, which works out to about 47,000 visas for the year. This is part of a broader cap on employment-based immigrant visas, determined annually by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The total number of employment-based visas for 2024 is approximately 165,000, a figure that includes unused family-sponsored visa numbers from previous years.

There are also per-country limits. No single country can receive more than 7% of the total employment-based visas available in a given year.

The limit is based on the worldwide availability of employment-based visas for each financial year. It is adjusted to include unused visas from other categories to ensure some flexibility in the system, though the process remains tightly controlled.

Indians eyeing EB-2 visa

Each month, the US Department of State issues a visa bulletin, which provides updates on cut-off dates for visa processing. These dates can change frequently across various visa categories. You can only file for adjustment of status if your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed in the bulletin.

As per the August 2024 visa bulletin, the EB-2 cut-off date for India is July 15, 2012. This shows that Indian applicants for the EB-2 visa are currently facing a serious visa retrogression, with priority dates stuck over a decade behind.

According to EB5AN, a US government-approved EB-5 visa firm, the backlog for EB-2 and EB-3 visa categories is particularly affecting Indian nationals. "Wait times for these categories are currently longer than for any other US employment-based immigrant visa, including the popular EB-5 visa," notes Sam Silverman, Managing Partner at EB5AN.

"In fact, global demand for EB-2 visas has surged to over four times the number of visas available on an annual basis," Silverman adds. "We are seeing over 180,000 applications for just 40,000 available visas. To complicate matters, this quota includes not only the principal applicant but also all dependents and family members."

This backlog poses a big challenge for Indian nationals looking to secure their Green Card through the EB-2 visa route.