On Monday, the U.S. Department of State said that all EB-2 visas that were available for the fiscal year 2024 had been granted. This implies that until the following fiscal year, which starts on October 1, 2024, no additional visas under this category will be issued.
Scientists, engineers, and physicians are among the foreign professionals who are eligible for the EB-2 visa because of their extraordinary talent or advanced degrees. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) imposes an annual restriction on the number of these visas due to their high demand. This places a cap on the total number of visas granted in each category. In particular, the EB-2 category is allocated 28.6% of the global annual total of employment-based visas. There won’t be any further visas granted under this category as the ceiling for the fiscal year 2024 has been reached.
For employers, this means that hiring skilled foreign workers through the EB-2 program is temporarily paused. Companies that rely on international talent will need to wait until the new fiscal year to proceed with EB-2 visa applications for their candidates. However, this break offers time for employers and workers to prepare their applications and ensure they’re ready when the visa window opens again in October.
In order to continue their visa application process or submit fresh applications, workers seeking EB-2 visas—especially those in professions requiring advanced expertise—will also need to wait until the next fiscal year.
This news follows the State Department’s declaration just one month prior that all visas for the current fiscal year had been awarded in full under the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3), Other Workers (EW), and Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) categories.
The early EB-2 visa depletion underscores the competitiveness of employment-based immigration to the United States and emphasizes the necessity of proactive planning in future visa applications for both companies and potential employees.
What is EB-2 visa?
The EB-2 visa is an employment-based visa in the United States that is intended for foreign professionals with advanced degrees or persons with extraordinary ability in science, business, or the arts. Applicants must have an advanced degree (master’s or higher) or exhibit remarkable skill in their respective disciplines. The visa permits persons to live and work in the United States, but applicants must have a job offer from a US business that can demonstrate that no competent American workers are available for the post. The EB-2 visa is widely sought after due to its speedier processing timeframes than other employment-based categories, however it has an annual cap.
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Source: HT
