For the past two years, there have been record-breaking numbers
of employment-based immigrant visas (green cards) available to
applicants, primarily due to COVID-19 pandemic-related consulate
closures overseas causing numerous family-based visas to "fall
over" to the employment-based category. In Fiscal Year (FY)
2023, however, the US Department of State (DOS) estimates the
employment-based visa limit to be approximately 197,000, which is
higher than the pre-pandemic average yearly total (about 140,000),
but far less than the historic number of visas available in FY 2021
(262,288) and FY 2022 (281,507).1 As the world continues
to recover from the difficulties associated with the pandemic and
overseas visa operations return to normal, it is anticipated that
employment-based visa availability in FY 2024 will return to its
historical annual limits.2 This reduction in
employment-based visa availability is slowing priority date
progression in the DOS's monthly visa bulletin
