Annual Limit Reached in the EB-1 Category

Last Updated: August 27, 2024

The State Department, working in close collaboration with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is pleased to announce the issuance of all available visas in the Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) category for fiscal year (FY) 2024. Maximizing these visas facilitates legitimate travel for individuals with extraordinary ability that has garnered national or international acclaim, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives and managers. These individuals bring contributions across many industries that greatly benefit the U.S. economy.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) limits the number of employment-based preference immigrant visas that may be issued within a fiscal year. Specifically, INA 203(b)(1) provides that the annual limit for EB-1 visas is 28.6 percent of the worldwide employment limit.

Since all available EB-1 visas for FY 2024 have been used, embassies and consulates may not issue visas in these categories for the remainder of the fiscal year. The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year (FY 2025) on October 1, 2024. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in these categories to qualified applicants.