The State Department, in close coordination with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has announced that all available visas in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) and Other Workers (EW) categories for fiscal year (FY) 2024 have been issued. This decision helps facilitate the travel of essential workers in various industries, especially benefiting the U.S. healthcare sector.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the number of employment-based immigrant visas is capped annually. Specifically, INA 203(b)(3) sets the EB-3 visa limit at 28.6 percent of the worldwide employment-based visa limit, with a maximum of 10,000 visas available in the EW category. As all EB-3 and EW visas for FY 2024 have been allocated, no more visas in these categories will be issued for the remainder of the fiscal year. The annual limits will reset with the new fiscal year starting October 1, 2024, allowing embassies and consulates to resume issuing these visas to qualified applicants.
Remzi Guvenc Kulen, Esq.
Kulen Law Firm, P.C.
